Case Title: State Of Rajasthan vs Gopal Bijawat
A division bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma of Supreme Court imposed Rs 10 lakh fine on Rajasthan for prolonging a dispute with a poor labourer for 22 years.
The bench criticized the Rajasthan government for its persistent refusal to enforce a labor court award granted to a financially challenged part-time worker back in 2001.
This individual has endured over two decades of legal battles due to the State’s non-compliance with the court’s decision.
In response to the Rajasthan government’s repeated challenges to the labor court’s ruling, the bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma expressed dismay at the protracted litigation endured by the laborer.
The court condemned the government’s actions as vexatious and unwarranted. Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the State’s appeal against a previous Rajasthan High Court verdict from December 8 and mandated the Rajasthan government to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakhs. Despite being reinstated by a labor court in 2001 following a labor dispute, the worker had to persist in seeking enforcement of the court’s decision through subsequent legal proceedings.
Various benches of the High Court upheld the State’s obligation to compensate the laborer, prompting the Rajasthan government to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the apex court’s recent ruling dismissed the State’s appeal and instructed them to remit Rs 10 lakhs to the worker within a four-week period.
