Intellectual Property: Registration and Effects
by: Adv. Kishan Dutt Kalaskar 2023-03-30 16:34:46
by: Adv. Kishan Dutt Kalaskar 2023-03-30 16:34:46
by: Adv. Kishan Dutt Kalaskar 2023-03-30 16:20:33
by: Adv. Kishan Dutt Kalaskar 2023-02-28 18:47:16
by: Adv. Kishan Dutt Kalaskar 2023-02-28 18:10:41
by: Adv. Kishan Dutt Kalaskar 2023-02-03 22:32:13
by: Admin 2023-02-01 16:45:35
Intellectual Property: Registration and Effects
Clearance to get a Passport and Visa during the pendency of Criminal Cases
Summary of the Payment and Settlement System Act, 2007
Procedure to track court cases online
Key Features of Union Budget 2023
Top 10 reasons to hire a Civil Lawyer
5 Benefits Of Hiring A Business Lawyer When Starting Your Company
Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Consult A Banking Lawyer
10 Things to Consider Before Hiring an Accident Lawyer
Payment Recovery Process
Analyzing legal and security issues in cyber contracts (E - contracts)
Discharging and Quashing in Criminal Cases
Legal compliances for online shopping sites in India
How to select a Lawyer
Supreme Court Judgments 2022
Maternity Benefit Act 1961, at a Glance
Modes of Recording Accepted by Court
Essential elements of a sale under the Transfer of Property Act
Compensation in Motor Vehicle Accident Cases
Is it important to respond to a summon?
Analysis of Section 18 of Limitation Act, 1963
Fresh period of Limitation
The breakdown of the doctrine of Res-Judicat
Impact Of Supreme Court Ruling
Analysis of Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act
How is 'BLACK MAGIC' governed in India
Different Identities of an NDA
Breaking down the requirements of becoming a Public Prosecutor in India.
Mohan Breweries & Distilleries V/s Commercial Tax officer, Madras
Kavita Kanwar Vs. Mrs Pamela Mehta & Ors
Entry into Judiciary: Minimum required Qualifications
Law of Retrenchment
Grounds for refusal of a Trademark Application
Early disposal of pending cases by the High Court
Parminder Kaur V/s State of Punjab
Central Bank of India V/s M/S Maruti Acetylene Co. Ltd.
Goan Real Estate and Construction Ltd. And Anr. V/s Union of India
Raj Kumar V/s Ajay Kumar
Synopsis of the Special Marriage Act in India
Lok Adalat has no jurisdiction to decide a matter on Merits
Significance of a Police Clearance Certificate in a pending Accident Case
Understanding the Digital Rupee
Eligibility of Teachers for Gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
Dr. M. Kocher V/s Ispita Seal
Smt. Seema Kumar V/s Ashwin Kumar
Leo Francis Xaviour V/s The Principal, Karunya Institute
Nazir Mohamed V/s J. Kamala and Ors.
Addissery Raghavan V/s Cheruvalath Krishnadasan
Himalaya House Co. Ltd. Bombay V/s Chief Controlling Revenue
K. Sivaram V/s P. Satishkmar
Basir Ahmed Sisodia V/s The Income Tax Officer
Burden of Proof
Interest for delayed Payment under Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 - Need for Change?
How to file a complaint in regards to violation of Cyber Laws
Delayed Justice from Consumer Courts
Can a registered Will be challenged in the Indian Court?
Trademark Infringement - Triple identity test in Trademark
Blockchain Technology in India – II
Manish V/s Nidhi Kakkar
Withdrawal of Mutual Divorce Proceedings
Blockchain Technology in India - I
Unnatural Offences
Surendra Kumar Bhilawe V/s The New India Assurance Company
Seat Vs Venue of Arbitration
D. Velusamy V/s D. Patchaimmal
Standard from of Contract - Legal or Illegal?
Life Insurance Corporation of India V/s Mukesh Poonamchand Shah
MSME Debt Recovery Provisions
Neelam Gupta Vs Mahipal Sharan Gupta
Analysis of Section 11A of Industrial Dispute Act, 1947.
Time Limits & Procedure to approach HC in Civil Cases
The necessity of Gender-Neutral laws in India
Sou. Sandhya Manoj Wankhade V/s Manoj Bhimrao Wankhade
Plea of Adjustment
Filing of Complaints against biased Judges
G. Raj Mallaih and Anr. V/s State of Andhra Pradesh
Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd. V/s Suresh Production
Chief Administrator of Huda &Anr. v/s Shakuntala Devi
Permanent Child Custody
Dilution of the statutory protection available to MSMEs
Validity of an Unregistered Sale Agreement
Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprise v/s Ks Infraspace LLP
False and misleading advertisements in India
National Legal Service Authority v/s Union of India and Others
Recovery Procedure in Cheque Bounce Cases
Roxann Sharma V/s Arun Sharma
Ganesh Santa Ram Sirur V/s State Bank of India &Anr.
Recovery Procedure of Consumer Court Cases
Bank Guarantee
M/s M.M.T.C Ltd. & Anr v/s M/s Medchl Chemical & Pharma P
Shailendra Swarup V/s Enforcement Directorate, The Deputy
SunitaTokas v/s New India Insurance Ltd.
Can couples get separated without a divorce?
Scope of Arbitration in India
Appointment of Arbitrators
NRIs right to purchase Property in India
Decriminalization of Dishonour of Cheques: a measure contradictory to its purpose
Paternity leave in India
Regulation of Cryptocurrency in India
How can litigants list their cases online?
Validity of Narco-Analysis in India
Remedies against frivolous cases registered against students by the Police
Procedures involved in a Criminal Trial
Procedured Involved in a Family Court Case
Death Certificate of a missing Person
Accountability of Police
Highlight of important Dishonour of Cheque case laws in 2020
Guidelines to be followed by Registered Medical Practitioners to dispense medicines
Land Mark Judgements on Family Law for the Year 2020
Remedies against harassment by Recovery Agents
Abetment to Suicide
Overview of the Vehicle Scrappage Policy
Rights of husbands in dowry and cruelty-based complaints
Admissibility of E-evidence; Are WhatsApp chats and E-mails admissible in Court?
Triloki Nath Singh V/s Anirudh Singh
Milmet Oftho & Ors. V/s Allergan Inc.
Director of Income Tax II (International Taxation) V/s M/s Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd.
M/s ExL Careers V/s Frankfinn Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd.
The Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Ltd V/s Babulal Lade & Ors.
Constitutionality of Bandhs
State of Himachal Pradesh V/s A parent of a student of a Medical College & Ors.
Rathnamma & Ors. V/s Sujathamma & Ors.
Ravinder Kaur Grewal V/s Manjit Kaur
Ficus Pax Pvt. Ltd. V/s Union of Indian & Ors.
Commissioner of Income Tax V/s Chandra Sekhar
Analysis of Section 41-A of CRPC, 1973
Judgment: Indian Bank V/s Abs Marine Product Pvt. Ltd.
Kailas & Ors. V/s State of Maharashtra
Sukhedu Das Vs Rita Mukherjee
Witness to a Will
National Insurance Co. Ltd V/s Hindustan Safety Glass Works
Mahalakshmi V/s Bala Venkatram (d) through LR & Anr.
Kajal V/s Jagdish Chand
Shyamal Kumar V/s Sushil Kumar Agarwal
NRI's Power of Attorney
Megha Khandelwal V/s Rajat Khandelwal and Ors.
Is Registration Compulsory under Trademark and Copyright?
Md. Eqbal & Anrs. V/s State of Jharkhand
Types of Will
Employment Contract
Police Clearance Certificate
Validity of Crypto-Currency in India
A. Jayachandra V/s Aneelkaur
Points to be considered before filing an Income Tax Return
Union of India V/s N. K. Shrivasta
Startup under the Government Programme
The procedure for filing a complaint against a Lawyer
Types of Stamp Paper
Satvinder Singh V/s State of Bihar
Sexual Violence laws under the Indian Penal Code
Shreya Singhal V/s Union of India
Division of Assets
Shaleen Kabra V/s Shiwani Kabra
Types of Property
Vasant Kumar V/s Vijaykumari
Personal Injury - Damages
Adultery under the Indian Law
United Commercial Bank & Anr. V/s Deepak Debbarma & others
Intentional Wrongs
Vinay Kumar Mittal & Others V/s Deewan Housing Financial Corporation Limited
How to get a Marriage Certificate?
Mohammed Siddique Vs National Insurance Company Ltd
Pagdi System
The Bonus Act
Frivolous Complaints under the Sexual Harassment Act
Important Income Tax Return Forms and its Due Dates
Garden Leave
How can a Private Complaint be filed?
Key changes to Indian Tax Regulations
Employees Provident Fund
Status of Triple Talaq
Contract Farming & the new ordinances that affect the Farmers
Documents required for filing a Divorce
Section 138, 141 and 142 of the Negotiable Instrument Act 1881
Validity and Enforceability of Click-wrap Agreements
Child Custody under Christian and Parsi Law
Hindu Succession Act
Oppression and Mismanagement
Fraudulent and Invalid Contracts
Developments in Reserve Bank of India
Loan Frauds in India
Penalties associated with Driving
Laws governing a Knife
Medical Negligence and its Compensation
Interim Maintenance under the Domestic Violence Act
Shortcomings of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
Tougher rules for the E-Commerce Industry
Difficulties faced by men in Family Courts
The consumer is the King in 2020
Illegal Termination of an Employee during Covid-19.
Child Labour Laws in times of Covid-19
Real Estate scenario Post Covid-19
Post Covid-19 Digital Shift of Legal practise
Mutual Consent Divorce through Video Conferencing
59 Chinese Apps banned in India
Litigants and the Lockdown - A Court Perspective
Anticipatory Bail for cases under section 498A of IPC
Brand Protection in times of Covid-19
Title Verification of Immovable Property
The Judiciary during the Pandemic
Termination of an Employee during Covid-19
Drafting of a Will
Criminal Medical Negligence in times of Covid-19
How does Covid-19 affect employers and employees?
Rent deference during the Pandemic
Post Covid-19 digital shift of legal practise
Police Interrogation
Prenuptial Agreements
Void and Voidable Contracts
The Negotiable Instrument Act 1881
Cheque Bounce Notice
Types of Dishonour of Cheques
Intestate Succession
The Stand of Essential Commodities
Trademark Cease and Desist Notice
IT Department Notice
Eviction of a Tenant
Consumer Complaint Legal Notice
Medical Adherence to Environmental Laws
Basic Elements of Transfer of Property Act, 1882
Debt Recovery Notice
Cheque Bounce Notice
Hygiene maintenance in Hospitals and Clinics
Consequences of using a Fake Degree/Certificate
Healthcare Security
Rights of Doctors with respect to Medical Negligence
Importance of Consent
Faulty Machine Aids Medical Negligence
The Special Marriage Act, 1954
Top 2019 judgements by Supreme Court
National Medical Commission Act 2019
Money Laundering
Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
Child Labour
Endorsement under Negotiable Instrument Act
Quashing of an FIR
Annulment of Marriage
Probate
FAQ's on Trademark
EMI - Equated Monthly Installments
Legal mistakes made by the Start-Up
What is a Stamp Paper?
Sexual Abuse in Shelter Homes
Debt Recovery provisions under the SARFAESI Act
Effective ways to stop Ragging
Transfer of Property Act
Personal Injury Lawyers
Marriage Registration under the Special Marriage Act
Rights of Tenant
Classification of various Collar Jobs
Documents to be submitted for ITR Filing
Illegal Immigrants
Role of lawyers in Corporate Finance
Intestate Succession
Employment of White Collar Employment of White Collar
Domestic Violence
Power of Attorney
Dissolution of Marriage - Christian
Noting And Protest
Hostile Witness
Unfair Trade Practice
All you need to know: Drafting a Legal Notice
Fraudulent and unauthorized transactions at ATM
Is legal documentation important in medical practice?
Why do doctors need to be updated with medical negligence laws?
Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
Jurisdiction of Consumer Redressal Forums
Does telephonic consultations amount to culpable negligence?
Consumer dispute Redressal Forum in dealing with Medical Negligence
Validity of Notices.
Response to a Legal Notice
Promotion of Medical Products.
Doctors' Bill: Prohibition of Violence & Damage to Property Bill, 2019.
Why less Indemnity cover is risky for Doctors?
Procedure for filing a Notice in India
Format of Legal Notices in India
Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019
Demerger
Legal framework for the Elimination of violence against Women in India
International Day for the Elimination of violence against Women
Family Courts in India
Inheritance Law in India
Rights of Children in India
Virtual Clinic
New Medical Technologies in India
Land Records & Titles
Regulations for firecrackers during Diwali
Legal and Regulatory Regime: Medical Technology
Intellectual Property in Medicine
Consumer Protection Bill, 2019
Artificial Intelligence in healthcare
The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act
Warrant and its Types
Joint Custody of Child in India
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
Penal Provision on Rash and Negligent Driving
National Company Law Tribunal
Rules to be followed by the Ganpati Mandals
Need to amend CrPC and IPC to increase the conviction rate.
Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019
The Growth of technology Patents in India
Citizenship under the Indian Constitution
Basic Structure of the Indian Constitution
A comparative study of the Indian, UK and the US Constitution
Can the Indian Constitution be Amended?
Overview of the Indian Constitution
All you need to know: Drafting a Legal Notice
Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019
Overview of The Indian Penal Code
Offences and Prosecution under the Income Tax Act, 1961
The abolishment of Article 370 of the Constitution: One Nation One Flag
Intervention of SC in the Unnao Rape Case
Case of abandoned NRI brides, Supreme Court issues notice to the State
Financial Risk Management
Know more about Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
Procedure to File Complain against Domestic Violence
The IndiGo Promotors Feud
Rajya Sabha passes the Triple Talaq Bill
Gift Deed
More about Contested Divorce
Things to be kept in mind - Dishonor of Cheque
Prison Reforms in India
Consumer Protection ACT, 1986
More about Joint Venture
Delay of Condonation
Points to be Noted for Child Custody to Father
Basic information of Companies
Plastic Money and their Advantage & Disadvantages
Motor Accident Claim Tribunal
Guidelines to protect doctors from frivolous and unjust prosecution
Unjust Compensation - A Doctors Perspective
Misdiagnosis: A Medical Negligence?
Exemption of doctors operating in Emergency Rooms
General Types of Medico-Legal Cases (MLC)
Duty of patient to avoid aiding Medical Negligence
Rights of the Patient
Steps to be taken to avoid Medical Negligence
Liability of Medical Negligence under Consumer Protection Act
Laws that affect Medical Professionals in India
Defense against Medical Negligence Cases
Duties of Doctors
Common types of Medical Negligence
Medical Consent for treatment in India
Regulation for E - Pharmacy in India
Types of Consent for Medical Treatment
Guidelines for Autopsy/ Postmortem in India
Guidelines for the prescription of medicines
Procedure to start a Pharmacy Store in India
India Vs Pakistan: Kulbhushan Jadhav's Case
Contempt of Court
Juvenile Justice Act, 2000
Bankruptcy & Insolvency in India
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Guardian and Ward Act In India
Medical Negligence in India
Procedure to be followed in Civil Recovery Proceedings
Rights of Consumers
Mandatory Registration of Documents and procedure
Rafale Deal And All About The Controversy
Due to the current lockdown being exercised by order of the Government of India for maintaining physical distance or to avoid forming group amongst people to protect and to eliminate the spread of the deadly virus. The lockdown came into effect from 25.03.2020 with nationwide closing of the industries, private/public entities, and other workplaces have led to some serious consequences on the working class. Corporates due to interrupted business have led to financial difficulties resulting in the layoffs from the workforce to reduce the cost, in turn, immersing the numbers in the balance sheet. In the time of covid-19, employers have laid off many employees, most of them were contractual in nature.
Introduction
An illegal termination is an act by an employer who is laying off an employee without providing a fair arrangement for such a layoff or by not following the legal method while terminating them.
Illegal termination can be classified with majorly different categories such as:
1. Discrimination.
2. Breach of Contract.
Though there are many other factors that are also categorized under the heads of illegal termination that are:
1. illicit order of the employer.
2. personal grudge.
3. dispute
Discrimination is an attitude or biases towards a particular personal traits and hatred for others. Such character traits also include age, race, sex, nationality or any other discriminatory grounds.
As employer and employee are parties to the contract of employment, such contract has laid down rules and condition regarding the employment and the employer cannot terminate any person from the employment in violation of such condition if any employer conducts such termination it will be termed as illegal, and action can be taken against such employment. There many rules and regulation provided under the various act such Workmen Compensation Act, 1923, Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and states Shop and Establishment Act.
During this global pandemic, the employees have been laid off from the course of their employment without providing any rationale, in turn, proving to violate the code of conduct of the contract of the employment. Many employees have been laid off with reasons stating the poor performance of the employee, there is neither any proof provided nor any basis for such reason, further, in some companies, there were provisions regarding the training period in case of poor performance which has not been complied pursuing to covid-19 nationwide lockdown which makes such termination illegal in nature, but no answer has been provided for relief of terminated employees. Due to nationwide lockdown, many (HR) departments personnel have been engaged in the process of termination such termination has led many illegalities as such personnel have been laid off without paying any severance package which is an essential part of the termination process. Many employees who were working for more than a period of a decade were laid off without any warning or notice period, which is essential for termination.
Though discussions have been held with the cabinet secretaries for maintaining the peace and harmony in the state that also includes the employment as an aspect to be considered for the eventual objectivity, i.e. stability of the state. Though order has been passed by the Ministry of Human Resources and development that states that “No employer will terminate or retrench any employee from the course of employment for any reason not in violation of the code of conduct, with rationale provided by the lockdown, the word employee also includes casual and contractual employees.”Many corporate employers have been terminating the employee from the jobs to cover the cost that has been lost due to interrupted businesses. Employees though have been looking forward and searching for new opportunities without participating in the battle against such wrongful termination, have lost faith in the stable economic situation and are in the state of turmoil.
Whereas, government and people from the legal fraternity after taking due cognizance of the matter, as they have been enthusiastic in finding and accumulating help in fighting against such terminations. Various guidelines have been issued that revolves around the topic discussing the termination of the employees in this current circumstance.
Start of the Lockdown
During the start of the lockdown, the Government circular dated 29th March 2020was issued in accordance with the National Disaster Management Act, 2005 and in some states under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 that is applicable on all the entities in the country stated that“no entity will be allowed to terminate any employee of any nature unless a violation of the contract under which such employment was agreed”. Under the said notification by the government read along with the Payment of Wages Act, it states that an employer is responsible for the payment of salaries to his employees in full without any unauthorized deduction even in the time of nationwide lockdown such proviso makes compulsory for any employer to comply with the employment rules and not terminate the employee that might be treated loss of wages which is in violation of the act read with government circulars. Though there was some scope in the dispute regarding reduction in salary the same dispute has been settled in contrary stating that any reduction will result in the violation of section 7 of the Payment of Wages Act including the lockdown pursuing to covid-19.
Any reduction by the consent of the employee, if at all has been mandated, will not be allowed, though the employment contract may have the proviso that can allow any employee to voluntarily or by consent agree to reduce the salary such decision will not be allowed as long as the provisos of Disaster Management Act are applicable. The government circular is proposed to promote the safety of the worker and employees in the period of the pandemic, and this will also include non-retrenchment and layoffs. Further issuing guidelines, it is also important to take the cognizance of the operational aspect of industries pursuing to the lockdown the business may have interrupted with their offline activities such organizations are expected to implement work from home culture to future date as determined so to protect the interest of the employees. Also Disaster Management Act, 2005 allows the Central Government to form the national Disaster Management Authority that will be playing a major role in framing policies to mitigate the loss and protect the objective of the welfare state, and section 38 of the Act also makes it compulsory for all the states to follow the direction provided by the authority. Moreover, section 78 of the said Act has an overriding effect over any other law, to the extent, it is inconsistent which concludes that any order of the Ministry of Home Affairs will override the state orders and municipal order to the extent they are inconsistent.
Surveys and Statistics
According to the survey conducted by the Azim Premji University, seven out of ten (72 per cent) workers in Karnataka reported having lost their employment during the Covid-19’s lockdown. This survey was conducted in collaboration with ten civil society organizations. In a statement released by the university, it stated that a detailed phone survey of 5,000 workers across 12 states in the country, to estimate and understand the impact of the pandemic on employment, globally. It will also gauge the impact on government relief schemes. Talking about the survey, it covered self-employed, casual, salaried workers, and the ones who work as per the system of regular wages.
The survey findings stated that seventy-six percent of urban workers and sixty-six percent of rural workers lost their employment amid the nationwide lockdown. For wage workers and the non-agricultural self-employed workers, who were still employed and doing their work, however, the findings said that their average weekly earnings witnessed a fall by two-third. The findings also revealed that more than four in ten salaried workers (44 per cent) saw either a reduction in their salary or received no salary during the lockdown.
As a reply to these findings of the survey, the team which conducted the survey suggested the expansion of Public Distribution System to increase its reach and implementation of expanded rations for at least the next six months. With these, it also suggested proactive steps like the introduction of urban employment guarantee, investment in universal basic services and expansion of MGNREGA. Cash transfers equal to at least Rs.7000 per month for two months was also suggested by the survey team.
Various Issues and Circulations
As the country entered the next phase of the lockdown, the Ministry of Home Affairs has withdrawn the order which stated that companies were entitled to pay full salaries to its employees and workman, through the period of nationwide lockdown. This move of the government will bring much relief to a large number of companies and industries which were not in the capacity to pay full wages to their employees amid the lockdown. While issuing guidelines for this phase, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla's order on Sunday said, "Whereas, save as otherwise provided in the guidelines annexed to this order, all orders issued by National Executive Committee (NEC) under Section 10(2)(1) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, shall cease to have effect from 18.05.2020."
The guidelines released for the fourth phase did not include the March 29 order issued by the Union Home Secretary, that directed all the employers to pay wages to workers on due date without any deductions, though the commercial unit was closed during the lockdown period.
Appeals in the Courts
The Supreme Court of India, in its recent hearing, in the case Ficus Pax Private Limited v. Union of India stated that “no coercive action against firms for not paying full salary during lockdown”. The court in this regard was hearing a bunch of petitions that were filed by several private companies that could not pay full salaries to their employees and therefore challenged the order released by the Ministry of Home Affairs to pay full salaries to employees during the 54 days of Lockdown. The Supreme Court further asked the private companies to reach to a settlement between them and the employees over the wage payment. It had also asked for a report to be submitted before the commissioners. The court also asked the Centre to file an affidavit within the time period of 4 weeks, challenging the Ministry of Home Affairs, ordered to pay full salaries to employees in the 54-day lockdown, that was implemented by in view of the pandemic. The bench consisted of Justices L N Rao, S K Kaul and B R Gavai, concluded that both the industries and labourers need each other in these tough times and efforts should be made to resolve the dispute over wage payments.
The court on 4th June had observed that some negotiations need to take place between the employers and workers to iron out what has to be done for the salary of these 54 days. The Micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) stated that the 29th March dated order issued by MHA was not taken in keeping the situation these small businesses which have been impacted adversely due to the pandemic.
Senior advocate Jamshed Cama, appearing for the association, said the companies are going out of work as they do not have orders for production of goods and they are being prosecuted due to the government circular. Therefore, it is necessary that the government supports the companies as well as industries in these tough times. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that he had a conference on the issue and needs to file a detailed response on the pleas. The Association of MSME further stated that such blanket decision of the government to provide full salaries to the employees is arbitrary, unconstitutional and unsustainable.
The Supreme Court passed a set of interim orders and stated that a settlement process is necessary to be carried out between the employer and the employee to safeguard the interest of both the parties. Accordingly, the supreme court has passed the following interim directions:
The above case will now be taken up at the end of July, and till then no coercive action can be taken against the employees as instructed by the Supreme Court of India.
Another plea was filed by the National Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), a Maharashtra-based IT union, seeking protection of IT employees against termination and salary cuts in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The bench which was headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and BR Gavai, turned down the plea.
The Supreme Court, dismissing the petition read, “We are not inclined to entertain this petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed.” Article 32 of the Indian Constitution provides the citizen with remedies which means that a person has the right to move to the Supreme Court and high court also, for securing his fundamental rights. The petition was filed with an aim to ensure that employees working in private companies are protected and not legally sacked against their rights mentioned under Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21.
The petition was filed after a lot of IT companies in the country initiated a drive of illegal mass termination of the employees, withholding the salaries of the employees and illegal pay cuts by the employers. Experts report that close to 1.5 lakh IT/ITeS employees could lose jobs due to the ongoing pandemic.
Contrasting Opinions
In a statement, a spokesperson of Cognizant, an IT company who has been accused of illegal termination, said that “Performance management is a normal process across all companies in the IT industry, including Cognizant.” However, Vinod AJ, General Secretary of FITE (Forum for IT Employees) stated that “We plan to file such petitions in Bengaluru and Kolkata as well. We want to expose to the government as well as the society the mass terminations that are going on. Because of this, not just thousands of employees but also their families are getting affected. The government should intervene immediately” He further added “They cannot terminate workers by just branding their performance as poor. Cognizant Chennai’s policy itself says that when an employee gets poor performance ratings, they will be put in a performance improvement programme. After three to six months of training, their performances are evaluated, and the company can then take a decision whether to retain them or not”
As in his own words, Dr Kislay Pandey, an eminent lawyer of the Supreme Court, has submitted that if at all any person who has been wrongfully terminated by his/her employer, it becomes a stronger case against the employer. Further, he mentions that Indian Contract Act, 1872 which deals with the contract of employments silent against the term force majeure (Act of God) that benefitted the employees, if at all such argument has been filed on such rationale there’s no case has there is no legal value to that term, or it can be said that it has mere theoretical existence. Though any term Act of God has been used or if mentioned in the contract does not include pandemic as such, which still leaves no scopes to use against any complaint filed.
Conclusion
It is advisable to take measures to help the country and eliminate the crisis by implementing different policies, but every policy should be implemented in the nation’s interest. In a simultaneous effort by the government, it is important for the business sector to maintain the hold of nation’s interest paramount to any other interest, a sector which contributes to major part of not just the country but the world at large. Business sector should comply with humanitarian policies beyond mere business strategies and valuation of the business in terms of money’s worth.
Following the direction provided by the legislature every person should put efforts in protecting his/her interest with the societies interest, the further legal professional should maximize their efforts in providing legal help to people who suffered in this pandemic for promoting the righteous nature and object of the legislature. Any situation resulting termination of the employees should resort to the legal remedies provided by the government. Any situation resulting termination of the employees should resort to the legal remedies provided by the government. Business sector should consider the government's effort to protect and promote national interest to defeat the grave consequences of the pandemic, this effort, in turn, will help the nation to build a stable economy in coming years. This act is contrary to policies of government for any reason whatsoever, will further lead the economy.
The recent decision taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs will, however, help both the companies and the employees to reach a decision of payment or non-payment. The country is in a situation where lockdown restrictions are yet not lifted up, and therefore, there are many companies which have not started their operations still. A bunch of petitions in the Supreme Court were filed, which is now dismissed taking in view of the current pandemic. These, in turn, is just messing up the situation in the country regarding the scenario of an employee and employer relationship.
Comment
Share