In a big relief to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the concerned authorities to release the salaries of 62 DCW employees, including acid attack victims, who were not paid salary since September 2016.
“So long as they are working, how can you withhold their salaryIJ Do you want the cells to stop workingIJ Shall I record thatIJ If 10 months’ salary has been paid, then heavens will not fall if another month’s salary is paid,” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said and initially ordered release of one month’s salary.
later when the Delhi Government standing Counsel Rahul Mehra said nothing will happen if salaries since September 1 are paid, the court directed that 50 per cent arrears, of the four months, of the employees be paid.
The court said the employees shall file, in two days, their affidavits and indemnity that the money being released was subject to final orders of the court and thereafter, DCW shall disburse the amounts in another two working days.
The judge said it was passing the order as the employees were engaged by DCW to work in various cells for women set up on orders of the court and while the lieutenant-Governor (l-G) had claimed the appointments were illegal, the workers were functioning.
He, however, made it clear that the lG-Delhi Government dispute over appointment of DCW’s member secretary shall not come in the way of disbursement of the arrears.
The order came on the 62 employees’ plea, filed through advocate Amita Singh Kalkal, seeking directions to DCW to disburse their salary which has not been paid since September.
According to DCW and its chairperson Swati Maliwal, represented by advocate Rajshekhar Rao, the cells in which the affected employees were working included the Rape Crisis Cell, Crisis Intervention Centre, Acid Watch and Rehabilitation Cell, Anti-trafficking and Rehabilitation Cell, Mahila Panchayats and Sahayogini programme.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Sanjay Jain and the Central Government Standing Counsel Anurag Ahluwalia, who appeared for the l-G, said prima facie investigation by Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and other authorities, including the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), revealed that the appointments of the employees were not done as per the law. During the hearing, ASG Jain told the court that the l-G had agreed to release ex-gratia of Rs 20,000 each to five DCW employees -- three acid attack victims and two orphans.
Also, he alleged that there was mismanagement in DCW and a racket was being run there and said he has a CAG report to prove it.
Reacting to the ASG’s argument, Maliwal said the Commission was doing good work for the first time and has spent only Rs 3.5 crore this year, despite which it was being attacked and was audited thrice this year.
She questioned why the municipal corporations were not being audited as frequently and further claimed that the l-G had not held a single meeting with them in last one year on women safety despite the commission’s request.