Uttarakhand High Court directs Patanjali to pay wage arrears to 93 workers
18 January 2018: The division bench of Uttarakhand High Court comprising of Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice U C Dhyani rejected the special plea and upheld the earlier decision taken by the High Court’s single bench against Baba Ramdev’s Divya Yog Pharmacy and directed the company to pay all back wages of 93 workers for the last 13 years since 2005. Collectively the back wages of the workers for the period amounts to over Rs 14.50 crore.
The Divya Yog Pharmacy came under the scanner of the high court when the workers filed a case following a dispute in 2015.
Patanjali Ayurved entered e-commerce this month for its FMCG products and targeting over Rs 1,000 crore this year. The company has partnered with eight players, which also include Grofers, Shopclues, BigBasket, 1mg, Paytm Mall and Netmeds, through which its entire range of products would be available online.
Besides, according to Patanjali, it will also expand into new product segments such as bottled water through its brand ‘Divya Jal’ and apparels and footwear under the brand name ‘Paridhan’ this year.
According to Baba Ramdev, Patanjali has an annual production capacity worth Rs 50,000 crore, with facilities at Haridwar and Tejpur, Assam and facilities coming up in Noida, Nagpur and Indore.
In 2016-17, it had crossed a turnover of Rs 10,500 crore and aims a two-fold growth this fiscal.
