Public holidays in India are governed primarily through the following laws:
- The Weekly Holidays Act, 1942;
- The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946;
- The National and Festival Holidays Act, 1963;
- The Negotiable Instruments Act 1981;
- The Companies Act 2013; and
- The Shops and Commercial Establishments Act.
The central and state governments have laws for organizations to declare public holidays for their employees. Employers must provide a certain number of public holidays every year to their workforce. While a state government may declare 25 holidays for a year, you need to pick and choose 8, 10, or 14 holidays for your business, depending on your location.
The Bombay High Court recently held a remarkable order
Whether or not to declare a particular day as a public holiday
or an optional holiday or no holiday at all is as a matter of
government policy. There is no legally enforceable right that can be
said to have been infringed. Nobody has a fundamental right to a
public holiday. As it is, we have far too many public holidays in this
country. Perhaps the time has come to reduce, not increase, the
number of public holidays.The court made these observations while rejecting a plea seeking directions to the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to declare August 2 as a public holiday to celebrate the Liberation Day of the Union territory.
A division bench of Justice Gautam S Patel and Madhav J Jamdar was on Wednesday hearing the plea by Kishnabhai Nathubhai Ghutia who, pending hearing and final disposal of his writ petition, sought an order directing the respondent authorities to issue a notification declaring August 2 as a public holiday from this year. The case title is Kishnabhai Nathubhai Ghutia & Anr vs. The Hon’ble Administrator Union Territory & Ors. [Writ Petition No. 9602 of 2021]
It held, “As it is, we have far too many public holidays in this country. Perhaps the time has come to reduce, not increase, the number of public holidays. We do not see any substance in the petition. It is rejected.”
Rejecting the plea the Bench observed that- “There is no legally enforceable right that can be said to have been infringed.”
The Writ Petition sought for an order declaring the government notification notifying holidays for year 2022 is bad and illegal to the limited extent of not declaring as public holiday 02.08.2022 which is the Liberation/Independence Day of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. On 2nd August 1954 the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli gained “Liberation/Independence” from Portuguese rule and became part of the territory of India. From 1954 to 2020, 2nd August was permitted as a public holiday on account of Liberation or Independence. This was discontinued on 29th July 2021.
The petitioners have argued that if other similar date as 15th August can be declared as public holiday for national Independence then there is no reason why 2nd August should not be declared a public holiday for Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
The argument was that there was that taking into account the population of Christians in the area it was decided not to declared Good Friday as a gazetted holiday. Observing that Christmas and similar holidays are widely celebrated, the Division Bench disposed of the PIL by directing the Administrator to declare Good Friday as a gazetted holiday in the Union Territories of Diu, Daman, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. That order stands on a different footing from the present case. That PIL was about the failure to gazette i.e. make compulsory, a public holiday rather than keep it optional.
Hon’ble Mr Justice Gautam Shirish Patel
Judge, Bombay High Court
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madhav J. Jamdar
Bombay High Court
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