After seven long years of courtroom wrangling, the Supreme Court on Monday (October 13, 2025) finally brought closure to the contempt petition filed by Kachara Vahatuk Shramik Sangh against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The petition stemmed from non-compliance with the Court’s 2017 order that had directed the civic body to regularise nearly 2,700 sanitation workers and grant them benefits akin to permanent employees.
Justice Vikram Nath, speaking for the Bench also comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta, observed that despite several opportunities, compliance had been patchy and delayed, though “substantial progress has now been achieved.”
Background
The case goes back to an Industrial Tribunal award in 2014, which had directed BMC to grant permanent status to 2,700 contract workers who had each completed 240 days of service. When the High Court upheld the award in 2016, the BMC challenged it before the Supreme Court.
In April 2017, the top court partly modified the award but largely agreed with the Tribunal’s relief-ordering the civic body to grant monetary and notional benefits to verified workers, while ensuring that families of those who died or were disabled received full benefits.
Despite this clear direction, implementation lagged. The contempt plea in 2018 accused the civic body of dragging its feet and selectively applying the order. From 2018 to 2025, the case was listed multiple times, with the Court repeatedly summoning top municipal officers and seeking compliance affidavits.
Court’s Observations
During the final hearing, both sides submitted detailed notes highlighting the remaining issues - incorrect wage fixation, missing attendance records, pending gratuity, and disputes over provident fund deposits.
The Court recorded that while BMC had shown “genuine efforts” in the last phase, confusion persisted in wage calculations. To resolve this once and for all, the bench formally appointed Mr. Shrikant Kamble, a retired Deputy Auditor of BMC, to act as an independent auditor.
“The Auditor shall make necessary calculations after due verification of records and material placed before him,” the Court said, directing that his findings be shared with both the Corporation and the union.
Justice Nath was firm that the audit exercise should not be an open-ended process. “The quantified amount shall be paid within four weeks from the date of submission of the report,” he ordered.
On the issue of delayed gratuity, the Court referred to Section 7(3A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, which mandates statutory interest on late payments. However, it left the computation to the auditor, depending on verified attendance and other records.
As for the ₹228 crore provident fund shortfall-now under the Bombay High Court’s scrutiny-the Supreme Court refrained from interference. “The High Court is competent to decide whether impleadment of the petitioner union is necessary,” Justice Nath clarified, declining to issue any parallel direction.
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Decision
Concluding the long-drawn contempt proceedings, the Supreme Court formally closed the matter, discharging all notices.
It directed that:
- The BMC must cooperate fully with the appointed auditor.
- All dues identified must be cleared within four weeks of his report.
- The auditor’s remuneration will be borne entirely by BMC.
- Either party may return to Court only if further clarification or modification becomes necessary.
“The matter stands closed. Consign to record,” the bench said, signalling the end of a seven-year legal battle that began with a simple plea for fairness from Mumbai’s sanitation workers.
Case Title: Kachara Vahatuk Shramik Sangh vs Ajoy Mehta & Others
Case Type & Number: Contempt Petition (Civil) No. 1264 of 2018 in Civil Appeal No. 4929 of 2017
Date of Judgment: October 13, 2025
