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Hari Prakash vs. New Delhi Municipal Council

Writ Petition (Civil) · CNR No. DLHC010671912006Decided 15 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 11307/2006CNR: DLHC010671912006
Justice Amit Mahajan

Background

The petitioner, a daily-wage sanitation worker (Safai Karamchari) with the New Delhi Municipal Council, was terminated in 1991 after less than a year of service. He challenged his termination before a Labour Court, arguing it violated protections under the Industrial Disputes Act, but the Labour Court rejected his claim, finding he had not completed the 240 days of continuous service in a year required for those protections to apply.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held that its power to interfere with a Labour Court's factual findings is limited to cases of patent illegality or perversity. Examining the worker's own muster roll (which he himself had produced as evidence), the Court found it showed only 238 days of work, just short of the 240-day threshold, and that Sundays/holidays were already reflected in that count, undermining his argument that adding them would push him past 240 days. The Court also rejected his claim that junior workers were retained in his place, since he provided no evidence identifying any such worker. The petition was dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

In termination disputes, the burden is on the worker to prove with concrete evidence (not just verbal assertions) that they completed the legally required period of continuous service and that junior colleagues were retained in their place: courts will not presume these facts in the worker's favour.

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