‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras invokes Prophet Muhammad’s teachings to pull up Madurai corporation

Srinagar, Dec 21: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has strongly criticised the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for failing to clear long-pending professional dues of its former standing counsel, observing that withholding payment violates fundamental principles of fairness and justice.

According to a report by The Indian Express, Justice G R Swaminathan, while delivering the judgment on December 19, invoked a saying attributed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) — “Pay the worker before his sweat dries” — to underline the moral and legal obligation of employers to ensure timely payment to those who render services.

The case was filed by advocate P Thirumalai, who served as standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for over 14 years between 1992 and 2006, representing the civic body in hundreds of cases before courts in the Madurai district. Thirumalai contended that despite extensive legal work, his professional fee bills remained largely unpaid.

The petitioner told the court that while his total dues amounted to ₹14.07 lakh, the Corporation had paid only ₹1.02 lakh, leaving an outstanding balance of ₹13.05 lakh. He had first approached the High Court as early as 2006 seeking clearance of his dues.

Justice Swaminathan came down heavily on the Corporation’s conduct, particularly highlighting what he described as a contradiction in government spending. The judge pointed out that while public bodies often cite financial constraints to deny legitimate payments, they routinely engage senior advocates at high costs even in matters where such representation is unnecessary.

As quoted by The Indian Express, the judge observed that government institutions pleading financial hardship to avoid paying retired staff or former counsel “have no difficulty in paying exorbitant fees to their lawyers.” He also noted that senior law officers, including Additional Advocate Generals, were frequently engaged for minor cases that could easily be handled by junior government counsel.

“All this for a few pennies,” Justice Swaminathan remarked, stressing the need for an audit of public expenditure on legal fees and greater transparency and accountability in such spending.

The court recorded that Thirumalai had appeared in as many as 818 cases for the Corporation and noted submissions that he was facing severe financial hardship, to the extent that he could not afford certified copies of court records needed to substantiate his claims.

Invoking the Prophet (SAW)’s saying, Justice Swaminathan observed that the principle of paying a worker promptly is an essential facet of fairness and is “eminently applicable” in the present case, adding that timely payment is not just a legal obligation but a matter of basic justice.

In its directions, the High Court asked the Legal Services Authority attached to the Madurai District Court to verify the list of cases handled by the petitioner and assist in obtaining certified copies of relevant records within two months. The Madurai City Municipal Corporation was then directed to settle the verified amount within a further two months, without interest.