Tue Dec 30 11:46:27 UTC 2025: News Article:
Bombay High Court Orders Hospital to Grant Permanency to HIV-Positive Sweeper, Cites Discrimination
Mumbai, December 30, 2025: In a landmark ruling, the Bombay High Court has directed Bombay Hospital to grant permanent status to Kumar Dashrath Kamble, a sweeper who was denied regularization for nearly two decades after testing positive for HIV. The court termed the denial “arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.”
Justice Sandeep V. Marne overturned a previous Industrial Court order, emphasizing that Mr. Kamble, employed since 1994, was unfairly denied permanency while his colleagues were regularized. Despite being deemed “unfit” after an HIV diagnosis in 2006, Mr. Kamble continued to work in a temporary position until 2017.
The court criticized the hospital for exploiting Mr. Kamble’s HIV-positive status to pay him lower wages for the same work. Justice Marne highlighted that the hospital’s actions were discriminatory and that Mr. Kamble was “wrongfully denied the benefit of permanency.”
The High Court declared Mr. Kamble permanent from December 1, 2006, the date of a settlement that regularised 150 temporary employees, but restricted financial benefits to July 5, 2018, 90 days before he filed his complaint, citing delay and limitation principles under the MRTU & PULP Act.
The hospital is now obligated to pay Mr. Kamble arrears within three months, with an 8% annual interest penalty for any delays. The court also referenced the HIV-AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017, and a previous Allahabad High Court ruling, which both prohibit discrimination based on HIV status.
First Piper 