Supreme Court rulings during lockdown

1.      26 May 2020: Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MR Shah had taken suo motu cognizance of the miseries of these workers and issued notice to the central government and all states/UTs in this regard. The Supreme Court of India has ruled to free travel and food for the migrant workers and held that trains or buses cannot charge any fare and the workers must be provided free food while they wait to board their respective transportation and the Originating state will be responsible for providing the food and water at the railway stations. If the migrant workers are found on road, travelling. Then they be given immediate service of food and shelter.  

 

2. 12 June 2020: Justice AshokBhushan on behalf of judge’s MR Shah and V Ramasubramanian, held that no coercive steps be taken for non-payment of full wages to their workers and employees. The court has urged the factory owners and other private industrial establishments to negotiate terms and enter into settlements with their workers on the payment of wages during the lockdown period.

The court’s order came on a batch of petitions filed by industry owners against a March 29 government notification compelling them to pay full wages to workers. The notification was rescinded on May 17, after 54 days.

 

3.   31 March 2020, CJI A.Bobde along with judges R Subhash Reddy and AS Bopanna, upheld the right to free discussion about COVID-19, even as it directed the media to refer to and publish the official version of the developments in order to avoid inaccuracies and large-scale panic. It ordered the government to start a daily bulletin on COVID-19 developments through all media avenues in the next 24 hours. But also, with the responsibility that the situation of panic is created through the following reporting.

 

4.      5 June 2020, CJI A Bobde, and judges R Subhash Reddy and AS Bopanna, held that the  Covid-19 lockdown will not impact the three-month period of validity of the cheques. The court accepted the RBI suggestion and kept the 3 months window. But with enough relaxations given in the lockdown 1, in the lockdown 2 phase this relaxation has been taken back by the government and the economic activity will start again.  

 

5.   5 May 2020, Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and B R Gavai, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea by the MHA’s order to not to take rent and not to vacate premises during lockdown and said that the court cannot implement the orders of the government. The court observed that there is already a helpline available for the same and the aggrieved people can approach to the concern authorities.