Rajya Sabha TV ex-employees move high court against their termination

Three former employees of Rajya Sabha TV have filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court challenging their termination. The petition was filed last week by Praveen Sharma, Satish Rawat and Hitesh Jindal, who were contractual employees.

Newslaundry previously reported how Rajya Sabha TV, which is owned and operated by the Rajya Sabha, laid off 37 employees on September 30 without a warning. Twenty of them were contractual employees, whose contracts mandated “one month’s prior notice in writing”, although they were not eligible compensation or gratuity upon termination.

The petition submitted that as per Clause 10 of the appointment order, their services could not have been terminated without any notice.

The petition noted that Jindal's contract was valid until August 18, 2022, yet his "services have been terminated abruptly without any reason or basis". The petitioners said they had written a letter to the chairman of the Rajya Sabha seeking answers but received no response.

The matter has been listed for further proceedings on December 16.

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