Mumbai: Housing societies can't take on role of cops, ban maids, say jurists

Mumbai: Maids cannot be prevented from entering housing societies now that lockdown restrictions have been relaxed, legal experts said on Saturday. Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke in March, this has become a hot button issue across the city as managing committees of housing societies banned domestic helps from entering the premises even as their members opposed it.

Suresh Pakale, a special counsel for BMC and state before the Bombay High Court, said: "The housing society registered under CHS Act 1960 has no power or authority to take any action or decision to prevent maids drivers, helpers, cleaners, as well as suppliers of milk, bread and other essential vendors from entering the premises, against the wish and desire of members of the society. The society cannot take on character of the police."

"Engagement of domestic help was never prevented by any notification. What was prevented was the movement of going out of society premises other than for permissible activities. Now by notification of May 31, those restrictions are relaxed, which means there are no restrictions on the domestic helps to resume work on demand," said Pakale.

Advocate Yusuf Iqbal Yusuf, who had filed a PIL in the HC, highlighting the "arbitrary and unreasonable restrictions" said his PIL, which was later withdrawn, was not an adversarial litigation and only prayed for the government to set out universal guidelines.

"It appears that despite opposing my PIL in court, the government realised that there is a need to set out standard guidelines and hence the co-operation minister has indicated that a set of guidelines are expected to be issued on Monday," Yusuf said.

A former Bombay High Court judge, Justice B H Marlapalle, said: "Since lockdown restrictions have eased, there is no bar on domestic helps to return to their jobs unless they are coming from or going to containment zones."

The federation of housing societies have called upon the managing committee members in societies across MMR to allow entry to those maids who live in non-containment zones. It asked societies to ensure maids put on face masks, use sanitizers and give daily declaration that their residential area was not under containment.

Swati Deshpande & Chittaranjan Tembhekar, The Times of India, Mumbai

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