Delhi High Court: In a writ petition filed by the petitioners, who were mothers of 3 minor girls rescued during a child labour raid, seeking directions recovery of unpaid wages payable to rescued child labourers despite computation of wages by the Labour Department and registration of criminal proceedings against the employers and rehabilitation measures for child labourers, the Single Judge Bench of Sachin Datta*, J., directed the authorities concerned to ensure prompt recovery of wages from offending employer in accordance with the procedure laid down in Kaum Faqeer Shah v. Ministry of Labour and Employment, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 128.
During a child labour raid conducted on 9 May 2023, 3 minor girls were rescued. Following the rescue operation, the office of the Joint Labour Commissioner (West), who was arrayed as Respondent 2, computed the amount payable as back wages by the employers to the rescued children on 10 May 2023.
Subsequently, on 11 May 2023, an FIR came to be registered under Sections 75 and 79, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) along with Sections 3 and 14, Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986 (Child Labour Act). However, despite the initiation of criminal proceedings, the employers failed to deposit the back wages determined by the authorities.
The petitioners repeatedly approached the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and labour authorities by making representations seeking recovery of the dues. Even after considerable lapse of time, the authorities failed to recover the amounts from the employers. Left without any effective remedy, the petitioners approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
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The Court stated that there was no dispute regarding the applicability of the earlier judgments passed by the Delhi High Court in Kaum Faqeer Shah, and Walter Kerketta v. SDM, W.P.(C) 9744/2017, decided on 4 July 2018.
The Court relied on Kaum Faqeer Shah, wherein the Court had comprehensively laid down the mechanism for recovery of back wages in cases involving bonded and child labourers. The judgment provided that:
1. Recovery notices must be issued by the Labour Department within 2 working days of rescue of a child.
2. Employers must be granted 2 weeks to deposit back wages.
3. In the event of default, recovery certificates are to be issued and wages recovered as arrears of land revenue by the SDM concerned.
4. Recovered wages are to be disbursed to the rescued child or guardians within 1 week.
5. NGOs and vigilance committees are required to coordinate with authorities regarding bank account details and records of rescued children.
6. Actual recovery from employers must be completed within 3 months from issuance of recovery certificate.
7. The departments concerned of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) must ensure strict time-bound compliance.
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The Court observed that despite the clear legal framework and repeated representations by the petitioners, the authorities had failed to recover the dues from the employers. The Court held that the present petition deserved to be allowed in view of the binding directions already issued in Kaum Faqeer Shah.
The Court directed that immediate steps be taken by the authorities concerned to recover the amount payable to the rescued children. It specifically ordered that recovery certificates be issued by the competent authorities and that the back wages be recovered as arrears of land revenue through the SDM concerned.
On the submission that the employers had become untraceable, the Court directed the SDM to liaise with police authorities to trace the whereabouts of the employers and directed the Delhi police to “pro-actively investigate and take all necessary measures” for tracing them and facilitating recovery proceedings.
The Court expressed hope and expectation that the necessary recovery would be made expeditiously and preferably within 3 months from the date of the order. It further directed that matter be listed on 28 October 2026 for reporting compliance with direction to the respondents file a compliance affidavit till then. The Court also directed that a copy of the order be communicated by the SDM concerned to the police officials concerned.
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[Tarannum Begum v. State (NCT of Delhi), W.P.(C) 14656/2024, decided on 19-5-2026]
*Judgment authored by Justice Sachin Datta
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Ms. Aanchal Bumb, Adv, Counsel for the Petitioners
Ms. Avni Singh, Panel Counsel and Mr. Vaibhav Sharma, Adv., Counsel for the Respondents
