Kerala HC stays state govt's salary deferment order

In a setback to the CM Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday stayed an order of the government to defer six days salary of government employees for five months.

The stay was issued for two months considering a batch of petitions challenging the government order.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government would take further steps after examining the court order.

Considering the petitions, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas maintained that deferment of salary amounted to a denial of property to employees and financial difficulties of the government was not a ground for deferring salary. 

One key contention of the petitioners, mainly service organisations, was that even as the government announced that the salary was being deferred, the government order did not mention when the deferred salary would be paid.

The government had decided to defer salary for all government employees and teachers as well as all government institutions with a salary above Rs. 20,000 citing financial crisis owing to COVID-19.