An Indian maid — who had accused her former employer, an IFS officer, and her husband of harassment and “slavery” — has received a favourable ruling from a U.S. court, which approved her petition that she be awarded $1.5 million as compensation by the couple.
District Judge Victor Marrero “adopted in entirety” the report of Magistrate Judge Frank Maas in which Justice Maas had recommended that Shanti Gurung be paid $1.5 million as compensation for the “barbaric treatment” Neena Malhotra and her husband Jogesh Malhotra caused her when she was employed as their domestic help for three years since 2006. He ordered that the case is now closed. The ruling came just days after the Delhi High Court restrained Ms. Gurung from pursuing her lawsuit.
The Delhi court had also accepted the argument that Ms. Neena is a diplomat in the services of the Government and was sent in official capacity to the U.S. and thus enjoys sovereign immunity. Any order passed by a court there would tantamount to interfering with the right of India to determine terms and conditions of employment of its diplomatic officers, Justice Gambhir had ruled.
