The Kerala High Court on Tuesday declined to stay the Ordinance empowering the government to defer payment of salary of employees of government and other government institutions for six days every month for five months in view of the COVID-19 situation
Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas while refusing the plea for a stay made by the counsel for various service organisations observed that the court could not question the wisdom of the government in bringing the Ordinance which did not appropriate the salary but only deferred payment.
The court also prima facie found that the Ordinance was enacted under the legislative competence of the government. The court pointed out that it was promulgated as the State was reeling under a very difficult situation and was intended to overcome such situation. The court could not interfere with the Ordinance at this stage.
The court said that the exclusion of the health workers from the salary deferment Ordinance was a matter for the government to consider and take a decision. Merely because the health workers were not exempted from the Ordinance was not a ground to issue a stay order.
Petitioners’ contention
According to the service organisations, including the Kerala NGO Association, the Kerala Disaster and Public Health Emergency (Special Provisions) Ordinance which makes for deferment of pay of employees of the government and its institutions in part in the event of disaster and public health emergency in the State was illegal.
Unless the service rules were amended, the rights and benefits conferred on the employees could not be taken away, the petitioners contended.
Govt. contention
Advocate General C.P. Sudhakara Prasad argued that the government had the legislative competence to resort to promulgation of such an Ordinance. The unprecedented situation warranted hasty promulgation of the Ordinance.
In fact, the government did not deduct or reduce the salary of its employees and it only deferred payment of the salary. He also submitted that the salary amount deduced would be utilised only for the management of the matters arising out of disasters and public health emergencies.
