Delhi government to withdraw FIRs against migrant workers lodged during lockdown
22 December 2020: The state government of Delhi issued instructions to the Home department to withdraw all FIRs/complaints which were lodged against migrant workers during the lockdown. The cases were registered by the police when thousands of migrant workers violated prohibitory orders inorder to leave Delhi for their home states during the initial weeks of the lockdown announced on March 24.
NHRC pulls up government over delays in providing relief to sex workers
19 December 2020: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought a reply from the Delhi government regarding the delay in finalisation of the policy related to the prevention of trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children in the national capital. The government’s reply stated that due to Covid-19 the final policy document was yet to be placed before the State-level Coordination Committee for its approval. The original petition had alleged that human rights violations had been continuing in the red light area of Delhi where minor girls were still being trafficked into on a regular basis.
Delhi High Court: Issues notice to Labour Ministry over pending back wages to bonded labour victims
16 December 2020: The Delhi High Court issued notice to the Ministry of Labour and Employment and others to expeditiously recover the long-pending back wages of the child of the petitioner and 115 other victims of bonded labour in the national capital where the proceedings for recovery of back wages have been initiated. It has also instructed the respondent authorities to initiate the recovery proceedings in cases where recovery, till date, has not been initiated.
Telangana: Labour department initiates action against 54 companies for denying workers leave on voting day in Telangana state
02 December 2020: The Office of the Joint Commissioner of Labour (Twin Cities) has booked 54 establishments for not giving their employees the opportunity to leave work and vote in the Greater Hyderabad Municipality Corporation (GHMC) election by not declaring a holiday on December 1 and not even giving employees a few hours leeway to vote and come back to work. The said establishments will be prosecuted before the Metropolitan Magistrate at Nampally, where a penalty will be charged based on the court’s decision. The offenders’ list includes some popular establishments like Health and Glow, Spencers, Max showroom, Lenskart, Reliance Retail, Bata, Westside and Unlimited.
