June 26, 2026, (Inside AI) — The Orissa High Court has directed the State Bank of India to pay Rs 20 lakh each to two former daily-wage sweepers, rejecting their plea for regularisation but acknowledging their nearly 30 years of service and bleak job prospects “in the AI era.” A division bench of Justices Krishna S Dixit and Chittaranjan Dash delivered the ruling on June 23, 2026, partly allowing appeals by Mayadhar Nayak and Baina Nayak against a single judge’s dismissal of their claims.
The workers were retrenched in July 2025 after working as sweepers at SBI’s Government Treasury Branch in Bhubaneswar since 1994 and 1995. The court found SBI’s offer of Rs 5 lakh each as a one-time settlement “too frugal to be mentioned, when bread is costlier than blood.” The bank must pay the total Rs 40 lakh within eight weeks, with delayed payments incurring interest of 1% per month for the first month and 2% per month thereafter, recoverable from erring officials.
Three Decades of Litigation and a Changing Workforce
The dispute traces back to the mid-1990s. The workers first approached the high court in 1999, seeking regularisation and benefits. In July 2007, the court directed SBI to consider them for sweeper vacancies. A December 2008 order allowed them to continue as long as work existed, with minimum wages. SBI paid Rs 1,61,619 each in September 2021 for arrears from April 2017 to June 2021. Yet, they were never made permanent.
The bench noted the workers’ limited education and social status, stating they had given their “sweat & blood” to the bank. The judgment observed that their age and the rise of AI made re-employment unlikely. The court’s language underscored a broader anxiety about technological displacement, even in manual roles, as automation reshapes banking operations.
SBI defended its actions, citing a policy to outsource such work due to technological changes. Senior Advocate S P Mishra argued the earlier orders never granted a right to regularisation and that statutory retrenchment compensation of Rs 3,30,934 each had been paid. The court, however, found the compensation inadequate given the workers’ long service and SBI’s status as a nationalised bank.
Compensation Over Regularisation in an Automated Future
The court declined to order regularisation, citing the lack of a legal right and the financial burden on the bank. It also noted that parts of the dispute were barred by res judicata. Instead, it crafted a remedy it deemed equitable: a lump sum of Rs 20 lakh per worker. The bench clarified the ruling is fact-specific and not a precedent for other cases.
The decision highlights a growing tension between labor rights and automation. While the court expressed sympathy, it acknowledged the limits of judicial intervention in employment policies shaped by AI-driven efficiency. The workers’ demand for Rs 25 lakh each was deemed excessive, but the final award reflects a judicial balancing act in an era where “bread is costlier than blood.”
The ruling comes as Indian courts increasingly grapple with the impact of AI on livelihoods. The workers’ inability to find new jobs “in the AI era” resonated with the bench, even though their roles were not directly automated. The case underscores how the specter of AI influences judicial reasoning on compensation for displaced workers, even in traditional sectors.
