A plea pointed out that, unlike SC, HC and district courts, digital access was unavailable at labour courts in Delhi.
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With no system in place to check case status or cause lists of Delhi’s labour courts online, blue-collar workers are often forced to travel long distances and suffer wage losses while seeking legal remedies.
Chandan, a petitioner in a compensation case regarding the death of his brother in a workplace fire, said he once turned up at a labour court only to find that it had shifted to another location, and his case was listed six months later. “There is no way of knowing if my case will be heard on the date it is listed,” he said.
Raj Kumar Singh, another litigant fighting for unpaid dues from a company that has since shut down, echoed the same sentiment. “There is no online system where I can see the status of my case,” he said.
However, access to justice for such petitioners is likely to become easier following an order by the Delhi High Court, calling for a “comprehensive digitisation of labour forums” across the Capital.
The court’s direction came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by three advocates — Saimon Farooqui, Deeksha Prakash, and Arjun Mohan — who cited the “lack of transparency and accessibility” due to an “outdated manual system” and argued that labour courts in Delhi are far behind other courts in terms of digital infrastructure.
In its order dated May 28, the High Court directed the authorities concerned at the Centre and in the Delhi government to respond within three months to detailed representations by the petitioners and formulate a standard operating procedure to enable online operations across all labour forums.
There are 10 labour courts in various districts under the Delhi government, in addition to a few run by the Centre in Dwarka.
The petitioners pointed out that most labour courts in the national capital do not provide online access to case status, daily orders, judge availability or videoconferencing links, which are generally available in the Supreme Court, High Courts and district courts.
“We are of the opinion that in case the online facilities in respect of the issues raised in this PIL are provided, the same will serve the need of the people, who require access to various forums created under various labour laws”.
Major predicament
“As of date, the absence of videoconferencing in the labour courts is a major predicament for litigants, advocates and all stakeholders alike as they are forced to travel long distances to appear for the proceedings physically,” Mr. Farooqui told The Hindu.
He added that the Delhi government’s Information and Technology Department is responsible for maintaining the official website, labour.delhi.gov.in, and that it “rarely posts cause lists or hearing schedules on time”.
Ms. Prakash, who frequently appears at various labour forums, said the lack of digital infrastructure poses a major hurdle that affects litigants, who are mostly daily wage labourers, as well as advocates appearing on their behalf.
She added that they had submitted a formal complaint to the Deputy Labour Commissioner concerned in September 2023, citing irregular updates of videoconferencing links, cause lists, daily orders, and judge-on-leave information. A follow-up representation was made in March 2024, as no action was taken. They are yet to receive any updates on their complaint.
Published – June 16, 2025 01:26 am IST