30 years on, Delhi High Court awards Rs 3 lakh each to retrenched AIIMS daily wagers

4 min readNew DelhiJul 30, 2026 02:00 PM IST The Delhi High Court declined the reinstatement of these daily wagers due to the passage of over three decades. (AI-generated image)The Delhi High Court recently awarded Rs 3 lakh each to two former AIIMS daily wagers who were terminated in 1995, holding that their retrenchment was illegal while clarifying that a finding of illegal retrenchment does not automatically entitle a workman to reinstatement with continuity of service and full back wages. While declining reinstatement due to the passage of over three decades, Justice Shail Jain held that AIIMS’ unexplained withholding of employment records justified an adverse inference and entitled the workers to compensation instead of reinstatement and back wages. “While no inflexible formula govern