Key Highlights
- The Supreme Court has directed Bihar and Jharkhand to pay Rs. 1 lakh each to eligible daily wage workers of five defunct state owned factories, in addition to amounts already paid.
- The court also ordered 12% simple interest on delayed EPF dues and 6% interest on delayed salary, wages and other monetary dues.
- The case stems from the division of liabilities between Bihar and Jharkhand after the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000.
- Of 2,274 verified employees and workers, 2,074 have already received their principal dues, while around 200 cases remain pending.
- Untraced or unverified workers and legal heirs will get 12 months to approach the designated nodal officer with the required documents.
- Bihar and Jharkhand have been directed to publish updated details of payments, pending cases and nodal officers on their websites.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed Bihar and Jharkhand to make a one time payment of Rs. 1 lakh each to eligible daily wage workers associated with five defunct state owned factories, in addition to the amounts already determined or paid. The court has also ordered 12% simple interest on delayed EPF dues and 6% interest on delayed salary, wages and other monetary dues. The order came from a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta.
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The case relates to the division of liabilities between Bihar and Jharkhand after the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 and concerns employees and workmen of five State owned inter State factories including Bihar State Construction Corporation Ltd, Bihar State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, Bihar State Electronic Development Corporation Ltd, Bihar State Forest Development Corporation Ltd and Bihar State Panchayati Raj Financial Corporation Ltd. The Supreme Court had earlier considered the recommendations of a committee headed by former judge Justice Dinesh Maheshwari in its 29th May 2026 order.
Court Rejected Static Wage Calculation
During the proceedings, a calculation based on a daily wage of Rs. 42.50 from 1992 had been used for some daily-wage workers. The court did not accept the idea that a worker’s status as a daily wager justified keeping the wage value unchanged for decades. It ordered the additional Rs. 1 lakh payment instead of sending the cases through another round of individual wage recalculation. The court also ordered interest on delayed dues from the dates they became payable until actual payment.
12 Months Given to Untraced Claimants
The court was informed that 2,074 of 2,274 verified employees and workmen had received their principal dues, while about 200 cases remained pending because claimants or legal heirs could not be traced or required documents were unavailable. Such workers and heirs will now have 12 months to approach the concerned nodal officer for verification and payment. Bihar and Jharkhand have also been directed to publish updated information, including names, posts, service details, amounts paid and pending-case details, within four weeks.
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