Gurugram: The district administration has issued show-cause notices to two prominent corporate law firms, Trilegal and JSA Advocates & Solicitors, for allegedly violating directions that restrict physical attendance at offices to 50 per cent amid worsening air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region, Bar and Bench reported.

Source: Bar and Bench

The notices were issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Badshahpur, on November 5 after surprise inspections at the firms' offices on Golf Course Road in Sector 42. According to the notice issued to JSA, about 87 employees out of a total workforce of 117 were physically present at its ninth-floor office, roughly 74 per cent, well above the permitted limit of about 58. At Trilegal, inspectors found about 160 employees present out of a total staff strength of 262, roughly 61 per cent.

The attendance cap follows directions from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) under Section 12 of the CAQM Act, 2021, requiring precautionary anti-pollution measures between November 5 and November 20. In compliance, the Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram ordered on November 3 that all private offices in the district ensure no more than half their staff attend physically, with the rest working from home, as Gurugram's air quality slipped into the 'very poor' category, The Indian Express reported.

Source: The Indian Express via Tech Word News

The notices state that the firms' conduct prima facie constitutes a violation of the binding directions. Both firms have been asked to explain within 24 hours of receiving the notices why action should not be initiated against them under Section 14 of the CAQM Act and other applicable laws, and to furnish their actual employee strength, attendance registers or biometric records for the inspection date, rosters implementing the 50 per cent rule, and details of employees permitted to work from home.

The administration has made clear that the notices are preliminary in nature and that no final finding of liability has been recorded against either firm. The action signals that the district's pollution-season attendance rule will be enforced through workplace inspections, not left as an advisory, during the November 5 to 20 window.