The court asked Singh to pay Sherghill for unpaid wages and unfair working conditions.

As per the report, Sherghill arrived in Australia in April 2015 and then she spent about a year working for the then-high commissioner at his Canberra home.

Sherghill told the court that she worked seven days a week, and promised 17.5 hours per day. The court heard that Sherghill ‘s work included cleaning the house, preparing meals, and tidying the garden. Also, she was let out of the house only to walk Suri’s dog.

However, despite doing all these, she was initially paid the equivalent of about $7.80 per day. When she complained, Suri hiked it to $9 per day. So in total, Sherghill received around $3,400 for her 13 months of work.

ALSO READ: ‘Was never permitted…,’ Australian court fines India’s ex-envoy Navdeep Suri Singh for mistreating house help

Demanding bosses:

Apart from this, Sherghill told the court that she had previously worked for Suri while he served as India’s Ambassador to Egypt. However, this time she was solely responsible for the upkeep of the eight-bedroom house.

“I was responsible for doing everything,” ABC News quoted Sherghill as saying.

“When he and his wife were away, instead of my usual chores, Mr Suri or his wife usually would ask me to make large batches of samosas and freeze them, or to clean the silverware. They would call and check up on me, to ensure that I was working,” she added.

Sherghill even noted that Suri’s wife was also ‘very demanding’. “She often nagged me to work harder, and said to me things such as, I was earning too much money,” the news website quoted as saying.

Later in May 2016, Sheghill fled the residence without taking any of her belongings. After that, she became homeless ahead of finding her way to the Fair Work Ombudsman. Then she was put in contact with the Salvation Army and was granted Australian citizenship in 2021.

Judge reacts:

Despite Suri did not appear at the hearing, Justice Elizabeth Raper granted an order for the case to proceed in his absence and found former India’s high commissioner to Australia contravened four separate sections of the Fair Work Act.

“[Ms Sherghill’s] employment conditions bore no resemblance to what one would expect under Australian law,” the report quoted Justice Raper as saying.

“Her passport was taken from her, she worked seven days a week, was never permitted to take leave, and was only allowed outside the house for brief periods a day when looking after Mr Suri’s dog,” Justice Raper added.

Apart from this, Justice Raper found Suri was ineligible to claim foreign state immunity as Sherghill did not work for the High Commission itself, nor diplomatic immunity, and the engagement of a domestic worker was not an official function of his position.

Announcing her decision, Justice Raper ordered Suri to pay Sherghill more than $136,000 plus interest, within 60 days.

Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

Updated: 05 Nov 2023, 06:05 PM IST