Entitlement to Welfare Benefits for Construction Workers Subject to Physical Verification and Admissible Interest payments.

Several petitioners, who are building and construction workers, filed writ petitions against the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. The petitioners sought various reliefs, primarily the disbursement of statutory benefits and the processing of pending claim applications.

Some petitions (W.P.(C) 6935/2026, 6984/2026, 5336/2026, and 5109/2026) were asserted to be squarely covered by existing Division Bench precedents. For others (W.P.(C) 5112/2026, 5714/2026, and 5346/2026), the petitioners sought a direction for the Board to decide their pending claims in a time-bound manner.

1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to benefits and reliefs in accordance with the prior Division Bench rulings of the Delhi High Court regarding construction workers.

2. Whether the respondent Board is obligated to conduct physical verification and decide pending claim applications within a specific timeframe.

Delhi Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board vs. Dulari Devi & Anr. (2024), which addressed eligibility and benefit entitlements.

National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour vs. Delhi Building and other Construction Workers Board (2024), regarding the Board's obligations to workers.

Rajo vs. Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board and Anr. (2023), which established the rule for the payment of interest on delayed benefit disbursements.

The Court noted the respondent's concession that the matters were largely covered by existing judicial stayed principles. For the petitions covered by Dulari Devi and National Campaign Committee, the Court found that the legal rights of the petitioners were already established and required immediate enforcement.

Regarding the pending claims, the Court accepted the respondent's submission that a physical verification process is a necessary prerequisite to disbursement. By linking the legal entitlement to a time-bound administrative process, the Court balanced the Board's need for verification with the workers' right to timely welfare assistance as mandated by the cited precedents.

The Board was ordered to pay interest on the amounts due as per the rules and the judgment in Rajo vs. DBOCWWB. All petitions were disposed of with these directions.