Delhi High Court revives 12-year-old case filed by Indian employees of Italian embassy over pay disparity

The Delhi High Court has revived a 12-year-old lawsuit filed by Indian-origin employees of the Italian Embassy alleging discriminatory pay practices [Rita Solomon & Ors (NK Dhenish & Ors) v The Republic of Italy & Anr].

In an order passed on December 3, a division bench of Justices Anil Kshetrapal and Renu Bhatnagar ruled that a single-judge had wrongly dismissed the case at the threshold.

The case gained prominence in 2013 when the employees sued both the Italian government and the then-Italian Ambassador Daniele Mancini.

Notably, Mancini was then facing the wrath of the Indian Supreme Court after failing to ensure the return of two Italian marines wanted in India for the killing of two Indian fishermen.

The Division Bench has now set aside the 2019 order of the single-judge who had rejected the suit under Order VII Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) on the ground that the plaint did not disclose a cause of action.

The bench held that the single-judge had prematurely assessed facts and merits that could only be determined after evidence was led.

"The plaint in CS(OS) 1352/2013 shall stand reinstated, and the suit will proceed to trial on its merits," the Court ordered.

The locally recruited Indian staff employed at the Italian Embassy since the late 1990s moved the Court claiming they were paid significantly less than their Italian-origin colleagues performing similar roles. Their employment contracts were governed by Italy’s Presidential decree, which mandates equal remuneration for employees within the same homogeneous category.

It was stated that between 2001 and 2012, the workers repeatedly raised concerns with the Embassy and authorities in Rome, alleging that despite assurances, the wage gap persisted. After securing mandatory government consent under Section 86 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), they filed a suit in 2013 seeking declarations of unlawful discrimination and arrears amounting to roughly ₹2.11 crore.

The Italian government argued that no cause of action existed since the Presidential decree did not require absolute pay parity and that differences were justified by factors such as cost of living and citizenship. The single-judge accepted this view and rejected the suit without trial.

However, the division bench criticised this approach, noting that the question of whether Indian and Italian-origin staff formed a homogeneous class, and whether cost-of-living differences justified wage disparities, were complex factual issues requiring a full trial.

“A belief by the Court that the appellants’ cause of action is legally untenable is not a ground for rejection,” the bench observed.

Advocates Abhimanyu Garg, Preety Makkar, Shrutanjaya Bharadwaj, Aashish Dutta, Aman Abbi and Vivek Sura appeared for Indian Employees.

Advocates Jaiveer Shergill and Gaurav Gupta represented Italian government.

[Read Judgment]