Jute mill owners moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking permission to reopen all jute mills without any restriction on workforce deployment or any condition of clearing of wages for the lockdown period.

The petition filed by the Indian Jute Mills Association requested the court to quash the orders passed by the Union and state governments directing mill owners to pay wages for the lockdown period.

The owners have argued if they adhere to the March 29 order from the Union ministry of home affairs — dealing with the issue of payment of wages for the lockdown period — the “cash trapped jute mills” will be forced to insolvency.

Along with the MHA and the Bengal government, ministry of textiles and the jute commissioner has also been made party in the case, which will have an impact on the livelihood of over 3 lakh jute mill workers in the state.

Mill owners have also argued that if any payment is made to the workers for the lockdown period, it should be considered as an ‘advance payment’ which would be later adjusted with the wages. According to the petition, the orders passed by both the governments mandating payment of wages for the period when no work was being done, are “arbitrary, illegal, irrational, unreasonable” and in violation of several industrial laws.

“We are private entities. How can the government decide terms of payment of wages even when we had no business?” asked a member of the IJMA.