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Supreme Court labour-law citator

Municipal Corporation of Delhi v Female Workers (Muster Roll)

(2000) 3 SCC 224 · 8 March 2000

maternitycasual workersdignity
Decision in 2 minutes

The Court extended maternity protection to muster-roll women workers and treated maternity relief as a social-justice and dignity measure.

Governing lawMaternity protection for non-regular workers
Provision focusMaternity Benefit Act principles; Articles 14, 15, 21 and 42
Judgment date8 March 2000
Source statusOfficial Supreme Court judgment linked

Question before the Court

Whether women engaged on muster roll could be denied maternity protection merely because their engagement was casual or non-regular.

Holding and ratio control

The Court extended maternity protection to muster-roll women workers and treated maternity relief as a social-justice and dignity measure.

Pinpoint locator

Official judgment: reasoning and final directions, pp. 7–11 of the linked PDF.

Open the official Supreme Court judgment ↗

Employer implementation

  • Identify the exact legal period, worker category and governing instrument.
  • Preserve contemporaneous records rather than reconstructing the file after a dispute.
  • Record the reasoned application of the judgment to the actual facts.
  • Check whether a statutory amendment or later decision changes the rule.

Employee and representative lens

  • Preserve appointment, wage, attendance, communication and proceeding records.
  • Identify the correct forum, relief and limitation trigger.
  • Distinguish the binding ratio from fact-specific observations.
  • Obtain the signed order and complete appellate history.

Practical consequence

Classification as casual, daily-rated or temporary should not be used mechanically to deny statutory or constitutional maternity safeguards.

Later-treatment status

Read with the current maternity provisions, Social Security Code transition status and the applicable establishment framework.

Finin2min Q&A

Can this decision be applied without reading the full judgment?

No. Confirm the material facts, governing provision, ratio, relief, bench strength and later treatment in the official signed judgment.

Does a Supreme Court principle automatically decide every employment dispute?

No. The rule is binding within its legal scope, but classification, jurisdiction, commencement and evidence remain matter-specific.

Legal caution: This record is a structured research aid, not a substitute for pleadings, evidence review or professional advice.