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Ficus Pax Private Limited & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2020 INSC 425Decided 12 Jun 2020
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 899 of 2020 (Diary No. 10983 of 2020)
Justice Ashok Bhushan · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. Employers challenged a Home Ministry direction of 29.03.2020 under the Disaster Management Act requiring them to pay full wages during the lockdown.

Decision Breakdown

This is an interim order, not a final judgment. The Court did not decide the challenge. It continued its earlier protection against coercive action, encouraged employers and workers to negotiate wage settlements voluntarily, directed the Union to file a detailed counter-affidavit within four weeks, and listed the matters in the last week of July 2020.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether the government could order full wages during the lockdown.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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