Availing Employee's Services Without Pay Violates Fundamental Right Against 'Begar': Rajasthan HC Slams State Over Unpaid Dues Since 2016

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand was hearing a petition filed by a public employee who was not paid his salary since 2016, for almost 97 months now without any justification, despite providing his services to the State.

“Non-payment of salary to an employee amounts to depriving him from his livelihood. Such person cannot be allowed to starve at the hands of the authorities without any justified reason…The right to life cannot be subjected to individual fancies of the persons in authority.”

The Court opined that the right to salary/wages was so intimately related to the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution that the fight to livelihood was an integral part of Article 21 too if the concerned person had limited resources. In cases where the person had sufficient means other than the salary/wages, a different view was possible, but not when the person was wholly and substantially dependent on the salary/wages for livelihood.

Furthermore, the Court also held that for constituting an offence under Article 23 of the Constitution that prohibited “Begar”, a complete denial of wages/salary payable to the person from whom the work was exacted, was not required.

“In order to ensure that the fundamental right under Article 23 of the Constitution may not be frustrated, the expression 'Begar' will have to be liberally construed and if there is deliberate denial of substantial part of salary and wages to which a person is entitled for, offence of 'Begar' may be committed, if there is no other just cause for denying the salary or wages to the worker. To allow the respondents to deny salary and wages to the petitioner would amount to allowing the respondents to contravene the provisions of Article 23 of the Constitution.”

It was argued on behalf of the State that the petitioner was asked to fill out certain forms and complete requisite formalities for the release of the salary but the same was not done, preventing the State from releasing his salary.

Terming the act of the State to be exploitative and without any justification, the Court held that it was shocking that the State was availing the services of the petitioner since 2016 without paying him a single penny. It was observed to be well established that fundamental rights could not be waived for the mere reason of not completing certain formalities.

“It is well established that Fundamental Rights cannot be waived by any person and, therefore, by no stretch of imagination it can be said that mere not filing certain forms and completing the requisite formalities delay in filing the petition amounts to waiver of the right to get salary.”

In this background, the Court directed the State to release the due salary of the petitioner within one month and in the event of failure, the State was cautioned of contempt proceedings. The Court also directed the Secretary, State of Rajasthan to withhold the salaries of the concerned officials in case the order was not complied with.

Title: Sunil Dattatrey v the State of Rajasthan & Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 62

Click Here To Read/Download The Order