Parmeshwar Apparao Kakde And Others vs. The State Of Maharashtra Public Health Department And Others

Facts

This judgment consolidates numerous writ petitions filed by contractual ambulance drivers challenging the non-payment of their salaries by the State of Maharashtra and its various authorities, including Zilla Parishads. The petitioners had been engaged through contractors, and their services were allegedly terminated or their salaries withheld for periods ranging from 12 to 15 months. The State, through the Directorate of Health Services, issued a communication on January 24, 2023, directing Zilla Parishads to submit details of salaries payable to these drivers, including GST, and the required funds for direct payment. The court was addressing the issue of unpaid wages and the termination of contractual employment.

Held

The Court held that the Petitioners, as contractual ambulance drivers, are entitled to receive their unpaid salaries. It directed that the minimum pay scale at the lowest grade applicable to regular employees holding the same post shall be paid to the Petitioners until further orders. The Court also ordered that their services shall not be terminated without leave of the Court, solely in relation to their contractual employment. The Zilla Parishads were directed to intimate the quantum of unpaid salaries to the Joint Director of Health Services within 10 days, and the Directorate of Health Services was expected to initiate steps for monthly salary payments from March 2023. The Court further directed that the Principal Employer (Zilla Parishad or Contractor) must make payments of arrears, if not in lump sum, then in twelve equated monthly installments. The Principal Employer was also directed to directly make payments to the drivers via bank transactions, which would not be a ground for alleging a sham contract or establishing an employer-employee relationship with the Zilla Parishad or Principal Employer. The judgment also noted that any contractual ambulance drivers terminated or disengaged are at liberty to raise an industrial dispute. The Court expressly left undecided the State Government's ability to frame a scheme in view of the judgment in Secretary, State of Karnataka v/s Umadevi (supra).

Key Issues

1. Whether the Petitioners, as contractual ambulance drivers, are entitled to receive their unpaid salaries for the period they have worked, despite their engagement through contractors and subsequent termination of contracts? This issue turns on the interpretation of principles related to contractual employment and the employer's responsibility for wages. 2. Whether the Principal Employer (Zilla Parishad or State) can be directed to directly pay the salaries of these contractual drivers, and if so, how this impacts the contractual relationship with the deployed agencies? Contentions of the Petitioners: The petitioners argued that they have not been paid salaries for extended periods and sought directions for payment. They relied on the principle that employees should not be deprived of their legitimate dues. Contentions of the Revenue/State: The State acknowledged the issue and issued a communication directing Zilla Parishads to provide details for direct payment of salaries, indicating a willingness to address the unpaid wages. The judgment does not explicitly record arguments from the State regarding the legal basis of the drivers' claims beyond their contractual engagement.