The Madras High Court on Monday imposed a cost of Rs. 5,000 on the Commissioner of Labour of the State as he failed to verify and submit a report as to whether authorities and various companies were complying with labour laws in respect of migrant labourers employed for the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL).
Hearing a petition by P. Ponkumar, president of Tamil Nadu Construction and Unorganised Workers Federation, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice S.K. Kaul and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam imposed the cost of Rs. 5,000 for non-compliance of the order.
Even two-and-a-half months after the court passed an order , the Commissioner of Labour had not filed an affidavit relating to the issue.
The court granted a further time of four weeks timefor authorities to file counter-affidavit and posted the case to August 27.
The petitioner had submitted that migrant labourers and others employed by various companies for the CMRL were not being compensated as per the guidelines , besides being deprived of safe working conditions and basic amenities.
4 officials pulled up
In yet another case, the Bench imposed a cost of Rs. 5,000 on four officials for not filing counter affidavits .
When a petition seeking a direction to authorities to demolish an unauthorised building owned by a textile firm in T. Nagar came up for hearing, the Bench observed: “As usual the respondents have chosen not to file the counter affidavit.”
The State Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary, Home Secretary (Fire and Rescue Services), State Labour and Employment Secretary and the Commissioner of the Corporation of Chennai had not filed their counter-affidavits .
