Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed that the Hindustan Paper Corporation liquidator’s order to vacate all the HPC’s quarters by January 31 be kept in abeyance till its next hearing on February 25.

The HPC’s liquidator had on December 23 last year, ordered that all the HPC’s quarters have to be vacated by January 31. This was apparently the move to kickstart the liquidation process of the HPC, as ordered by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on May 2 last year.

Manabendra Chakraborty, the president of the Cachar Paper Project Workers’ Union, told The Telegraph from New Delhi on Tuesday that they filed a writ petition with the court on Monday.

They apprised the court about the pathetic condition of the workers of the two mills of Assam (both units of HPC) because of non-payment of salaries, provident fund and gratuity and about the order by the HPC’s liquidator. They urged the court to look into the matter urgently, he said.

The two mills — Cachar paper mill at Jagiroad in south Assam’s Hailakandi district and Nagaon paper mill at Jagiroad in central Assam’s Morigaon district — have been non-functional since October 2015 and March 2017 respectively. Their employees have not received their salaries for the past 36 and 34 months.

Chakraborty, who was present in the high court during the hearing today, said the court heard the petition on Tuesday and directed that the order to be kept in abeyance till its next hearing.

All the parties in the issue — the government of India, HPC’s liquidator and the Central Provident Fund Commissioner have been asked to appear in court in the next hearing. He said though the employees of the mills and their families have been suffering for several months, the government never tried to end their sufferings.

Sixty employees died and there were three suicides since the mills ceased functioning, he said and blamed the government for the deaths.

Dipak Chandra Nath, the general secretary of the Cach-ar Paper Mill Officers’ and Supervisors’ Association, said the court’s order has given a “temporary relief” to them, but made it clear that they wo-uld not let anyone vacate the quarters unless all the dues of the employees are remitted.

He hoped the judicial system would rescue them permanently from doom, gradually approaching towards them in the form of destitution, stress and uncertainties regarding their future.