NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the central government in a plea seeking immediate payment of basic minimum wages to migrant workers and self-employed poor suffering due to the 21-day lockdown, imposed to contain the spread of covid-19 pandemic.
An apex court bench comprising justices L Nageshwar Rao and Deepak Gupta has sought the Centre's response by 7 April, observing that the "plight of migrant workers in the unorganised sector" is of particular concern.
The public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed by human rights activists Harsh Mandher and Anjali Bharadwaj. Advocate Prashant Bhushan represented the petitioners in the court and the hearing was conducted through video-conferencing.