The Allahabad High Court has ruled that power department employees who failed to mark biometric attendance due to internet connectivity issues may approach the concerned authorities with proof of having performed their duties, and their withheld salaries may be released if their claims are verified.
The order came from Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery while hearing a plea filed by Satyanarayan Upadhyay and nine other employees, who claimed they were unable to mark attendance for June 2025 using the Urja Janshakti App, a biometric attendance system. The petitioners had been informed on July 3 that non-compliance with the biometric attendance protocol would result in the stoppage of their salaries.
The court observed that the employees had not approached the relevant authorities during June to raise concerns about internet connectivity issues affecting their attendance. “Grievance of petitioners being vague is unsustainable since they have never approached concerned respondents during month of June, 2025 that due to internet problem, they were not able to mark biometric attendance,” the court noted.
However, the court provided relief by allowing employees to submit evidence of having worked during June. “In case petitioners are able to show that they have worked in June, 2025, their salary, if stopped, shall be released,” the court said in its August 6 order.
At the same time, the court clarified that this should not be construed as an exemption from the mandatory use of the biometric attendance app. “This order will not be considered that petitioners are exempted from making attendance by biometric through app,” the bench added.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the nature of their work—often in the field—could have led to difficulties in marking attendance due to internet issues. In response, the state counsel maintained that the biometric system had been made mandatory through a notification dated September 23, 2024, which had not been challenged in the petition. It was further contended that no prior communication had been made by the petitioners regarding internet problems.
The court directed that if the internet-related issues are found to be genuine, the concerned employees may individually submit evidence of their presence and duties performed, which should then be verified by a senior officer at the respective power station. Upon satisfactory verification, the salary for the relevant period must be disbursed.
