The Madras High Court on Friday closed a public interest litigation petition which complained of domestic LPG cylinder delivery men behaving in an unruly manner with customers by demanding a fixed amount of money towards tips, despite the delivery cost getting covered in the bill amount.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy closed the case after recording the submission of oil marketing companies that an effective mechanism was already in place to lodge complaints and that appropriate action was being taken on such complaints.
Agreeing with the litigant that there could be some unruly delivery men who might refuse to complete the delivery on non-payment of tips, just as there are customers who are difficult to handle, the judges emphasised the need to consider the physical pain undergone by the labourers who deliver the cylinders.
The Bench said the delivery men, who brave the sweltering summer heat to deliver cylinders to every nook and corner, were seldom offered a glass of water or a place to sit for a while. It was probably in the Indian psyche to not respect the dignity of manual labour, the judges lamented.
