The Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, on Thursday strongly criticised service provider agencies for exploiting domestic workers, revealing that even the Supreme Court had paid Rs 40,000 per worker to an agency, the workers themselves received only Rs 19,000. “How many industrial units in the country have been closed thanks to trade unions? The Chief Justice cautioned that well-intentioned welfare measures could sometimes produce unintended consequences. He submitted that while some States had notified minimum wages for domestic workers, many others had not, despite the nature of domestic employment remaining the same across States. The petition was disposed of with an observation urging States to examine the grievances raised by the domestic workers' unions.