KSRTC Employees Allegedly Not Paid Salary: Kerala HC Calls It A 'Serious Predicament', Seeks Corporation's Response

The Kerala High Court on Thursday sought the response of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the State on a plea moved by the KSRTC employees alleging that they are not being paid salary promptly.  

Justice Devan Ramachandran took exception to this situation while finding it to be a 'serious predicament' if found to be true and asked KSRTC to explain how it plans to become self-reliant and take care of its employees.

"The predicament of the employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), in allegedly not obtaining salary on time, and sometimes after several days it becomes due, is certainly a very serious one – if it is true. The KSRTC is stated to be a company and obviously, therefore, the officers in its charge will have to ensure that such issues obtain resolution effectively and expediently."

The plea filed through Advocates P. Nandakumar and Amrutha Sanjeev also alleged that the officers and supervisory personnel are paid their salary on time and that KSRTC first services their loans with the available income, thus relegating the payment of the salary to other employees – who have no other source of livelihood – to the least priority.

Standing Counsel Deepu Thankan for the KSRTC elaborated on the various problems and impediments faced by the Corporation, including that the price of diesel has been inordinately hiked. 

However, the Judge took a stand that the Corporation should not lose sight of the plight of its employees no matter what hindrance it was facing. 

"Whatever be the reasons that the KSRTC may lay out, it is inevitable that the plight of its employees cannot be lost sight of and that they have to be paid salary without any avoidable delay. This Court cannot rest upon the excuses offered or to be offered by the KSRTC and it is imperative that they explain how they propose to attain the necessary levels of efficiency so that it can become self-reliant and take care of its employees and services. This may not be very easy but certainly has to be done if it is to survive in future."

KSRTC has been asked to respond to the various allegations through cogent and reliable figures and inputs.

The petitioners also strongly prayed that the officials and supervisory personnel of KSRTC be ordered not to be paid their salaries until theirs were honoured.

The Court found this request to be justified because otherwise the employees would feel discriminated against. It also found force in their grievance that their payments were being honoured with least priority.

"I, therefore, make it clear that if it so becomes warranted, this Court may pass such orders, but only after the KSRTC responds to this properly; for which purpose, I give them time till the next posting date."

Before parting, the Judge found it necessary to record the submissions of the Standing Counsel that the KSRTC operates its fleet in public interest and therefore, profits cannot be its primary objective. The Court clarified that this contention has an inherent problem entwined with it because, if the Corporation could not achieve operational profits, it would have to rely on the Government to step in and make good the loss.

Therefore, this appeared to be an issue that should be answered by the Government at the appropriate level. Government Pleader Resmi Thomas sought time to obtain instructions in this regard.

Taking note of the abject difficulties stated to be faced by the petitioners and other employees of the KSRTC, the Court deemed it appropriate that this matter be listed without delay. The matter will be taken up next on 8 June.

Case Title: R. Baji & Ors. v. KSRTC & Ors.

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 255

Click Here To Read/Download The Order