On 18 July 2012, a clash between workers and managers at Maruti Suzuki's car plant in Manesar, Haryana, ended with part of the factory on fire and general manager (HR) Awanish Kumar Dev dead. Police charged 148 workers, including the whole leadership of a union registered months earlier, and the company dismissed 546 permanent workers. In March 2017 a Gurugram sessions court acquitted 117 and convicted 31, sentencing 13 to life in prison. Their appeals are pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Key takeaways
- The violence at Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant on 18 July 2012 followed a year of strikes in 2011 over workers' demand for their own union, which was registered as the Maruti Suzuki Workers Union in early 2012.
- Maruti Suzuki said 96 supervisors and managers were injured and GM (HR) Awanish Kumar Dev was burnt to death; a post-mortem reported he died of suffocation and had multiple leg fractures.
- The union said a supervisor used a caste slur against a Dalit worker, Jiya Lal, who was then suspended, and alleged that hired "bouncers" attacked workers and set the fire; the company said Jiya Lal assaulted the supervisor and workers attacked staff.
- Maruti declared a lockout on 21 July 2012, dismissed 546 permanent workers citing "loss of confidence", and reopened the plant on 21 August under heavy police guard.
- Haryana police charge-sheeted 148 workers; most spent about three years in jail before the Supreme Court granted the first bail in February 2015.
- On 10 March 2017 Additional Sessions Judge R.P. Goyal acquitted 117 workers and convicted 31; on 18 March he gave 13, including 12 union office-bearers and Jiya Lal, life sentences.
- Workers' appeals and the state's appeal seeking the death penalty were filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court; no decision on them has been reported as of October 2026.
Background: the fight for a union in 2011
Maruti Suzuki's Manesar plant started production in 2007. Permanent workers there boycotted the company's recognised union, the Maruti Udyog Kamgar Union based at the older Gurgaon plant, and wanted their own Business Today. The Wire reported that output was rising while contract workers, paid less than half a permanent worker's wage, made up a growing share of the workforce The Wire.
Workers struck three times in 2011-12, Scroll reported Scroll:
- June 2011: A 13-day strike demanding a separate union ended on 16 June when management agreed to reinstate 11 sacked employees. The Tribune put the company's loss at Rs 500 crore Tribune.
- August to September 2011: From 29 August the company kept out workers who would not sign a "good conduct bond" promising not to "go slow" or stop work. The company accused workers of deliberately reducing output and compromising quality Business Today. A settlement brokered by the Haryana labour department on 30 September required workers to sign the bond. 44 regular workers stayed suspended and 18 trainees were taken back PTI via Business Today IMF.
- October 2011: When work resumed on 3 October, contract and casual workers were not let back in IMF. The dispute, which lasted nearly two months in all, ended with about 30 suspended leaders, including Sonu Gujjar and Shiv Kumar, resigning with severance payments. Workers alleged the leaders had been paid off. Maruti said it had done nothing wrong PRI.
The Maruti Suzuki Workers Union (MSWU) was finally registered in early 2012: February according to The Wire and Scroll, March according to a PUDR report summarised in EPW. It submitted a charter of demands on wages in April 2012 The Wire EPW.
What happened on 18 July 2012
The two sides agree on how the day began. There was an argument on the shop floor between a supervisor and Jiya Lal, a permanent worker, and the company suspended Jiya Lal. The union then began negotiating with the HR department The Wire. The Leaflet, citing workers, names the supervisor as Ramkishore Majhi and says workers wanted either action against both men or the suspension withdrawn. Management refused, and A-shift workers stayed inside after their shift The Leaflet.
What followed is disputed. That evening a fire gutted part of the plant, and Dev's charred body was found inside. According to the post-mortem, he died of suffocation after failing to escape a burning building. He also had multiple fractures in his legs Tribune. Dev was 50 and had joined Maruti in June 2010. The company said he had worked to improve conditions for Manesar workers Tribune.
Timeline
Suspension and talks
Jiya Lal is suspended after the shop-floor dispute; union leaders meet HR officials to demand that it be withdrawn The Wire.
Violence and fire
Officials say workers stormed a conference room where managers were meeting and set fires at five places, including the security room and assembly line Tribune. Dev is killed.
First arrests
Police arrest 99 people, 91 of whom are jailed, on the basis of CCTV footage and victims' statements. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is set up Tribune.
Lockout
Maruti declares a lockout at Manesar, citing employees' safety Maruti Suzuki.
Prohibitory orders
Gurgaon's district magistrate imposes Section 144 within 2 km of IMT Manesar as other factories' workers plan a solidarity march Business Today.
Union leaders held
Ten union leaders, including president Ram Mehar, are arrested, bringing arrests to 114. They ask for their police questioning to be video-recorded, saying they could be tortured IANS via Business Today.
Dismissals and reopening
Maruti announces it has dismissed 510 regular workers, a number expected to rise to 550, and will reopen on 21 August under heavy guard. Jiya Lal, described as the main accused, is arrested the same day Tribune.
Charge sheet
Police file a charge sheet against 148 accused under sections including 302 (murder) of the IPC. Charges are framed on 22 August 2013 Punjab and Haryana High Court order.
Both accounts
Workers' and union account
Claim · MSWU In a statement on 19 July 2012, union president Ram Mehar said a supervisor "abused and made casteist comments against a dalit worker". The management suspended the worker "without any investigation", he said. During talks, it then "called in the entry of hundreds of bouncers on its payroll" who attacked workers. The statement alleged the bouncers "destroyed company property and set fire to a portion of the factory" MSWU statement. Workers also told reporters that private security already inside the plant started the violence The Wire. PUDR, a Delhi civil liberties group, said the investigation "favours" the company and ignored evidence of management's culpability PUDR.
Company, police and state account
Claim · Maruti Suzuki The company called it "large scale violence by workmen". It said Dev "was burnt to death" and 96 supervisors and managers were injured or hospitalised Maruti Suzuki. Officials said workers blocked exits and "threw the first punch" Tribune. The company said Jiya Lal had assaulted the supervisor The Wire. Chairman R.C. Bhargava called it a "class attack" and blamed "left-wing extreme elements" PTI via Deccan Herald.
Government's position Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the SIT was investigating and "stern action will be taken against those found guilty" Tribune. The Union Home Ministry said it would look into the company's allegation of a Maoist link PTI via Deccan Herald. The CPI(M)'s Haryana secretary said the violence "cannot be straightway blamed on workers" Tribune.
No evidence The union's claim that hired bouncers set the fire was not accepted by the trial court. No independent inquiry into it was reported. Ram Niwas of the workers' provisional committee said after the verdict that the prosecution "did not provide CCTV footage at the trial" IndustriALL.
Lockout and dismissals
Before the shutdown the plant had 1,528 regular and 1,869 contract workers Tribune. Maruti said it had identified workers "involved in the violence and in whom the Company has lost confidence". It noted they had signed a good conduct undertaking months earlier, and said they "will not be taken back" Maruti Suzuki. It also said it would stop using contractors' workers on the production line Tribune.
The final count of dismissed permanent workers is reported as 546. IndustriALL put the number of contract workers who lost their jobs at about 1,800 IndustriALL Business Today. According to The Leaflet, 426 of the 546 were dismissed for "loss of confidence" without an internal inquiry, although they were not on the SIT's list of accused The Leaflet. The Haryana government posted 500 Rapid Action Force personnel at the plant, 200 of them inside Tribune.
Arrests, bail and the trial
Reported arrest totals vary with date and source: 148 (the charge sheet), 147 (PUDR and Scroll), and 154 (Bhargava, speaking in August 2012) P&H High Court PUDR AFP via IndustryWeek. In August 2014, The Peninsula reported that none of them had been given bail The Peninsula.
The High Court refused bail in 2013. Its order said the incident "lowered the reputation of India in the estimation of the world" and that foreign investors might stay away "out of fear of labour unrest" The Wire. On 23 February 2015 the Supreme Court granted bail to two workers. PUDR said the only prosecution witness against them had failed to identify them PUDR. Lower courts then granted bail to others from March 2015 The Wire. By July 2016, 35 workers were still in jail Scroll.
The prosecution examined 102 witnesses P&H High Court. Defence lawyers challenged parts of the evidence Scroll:
- Four labour contractors were the only witnesses against 89 workers, and each named workers from a separate block of the alphabet. In 2014 none of the four could identify any of the 89.
- The FIR named the weapons as "belcha, lathis, rods". Police later showed 139 car door-beams and shockers recovered from workers' homes weeks after the incident.
Public prosecutor L.S. Yadav opposed bail, saying: "The workers committed a very heinous crime. If they come out, they will cause more problems." D.C. Gupta, a lawyer for Maruti, called the defence's request to recall witnesses a delaying tactic Scroll.
The March 2017 verdict
On 10 March 2017, Additional Sessions Judge R.P. Goyal of Gurugram acquitted 117 workers and convicted 31 Business Today EPW. On 18 March, with Section 144 in force across the district, he sentenced them PTI via Tribune Business Standard:
- 13 got life imprisonment for murder, including union president Ram Mehar. The 13 were the 12 union office-bearers and Jiya Lal Scroll.
- Four got five years.
- 14 were released with a Rs 2,500 fine, having already served about four and a half years.
The prosecution had sought the death penalty. Defence counsel Rebecca John said she would appeal PTI via Tribune.
There is less than tenuous evidence to link any of these 13 workers to the fire.
Vrinda Grover, workers' lawyer, March 2017 (IndustriALL)
Workers at Maruti plants and vendor companies held a one-hour tool-down and later marches. Some said the verdict told workers not to form unions Scroll. A Maruti spokesperson said production was normal on the day of sentencing Business Standard.
Outcome
- Deaths: One, GM (HR) Awanish Kumar Dev.
- Injuries: 96 supervisors and managers, per Maruti; Business Standard reported 94 supervisors and managers and nine policemen.
- Arrests: 148 charge-sheeted; most held about three years before bail.
- Jobs: 546 permanent workers dismissed; about 1,800 contract workers out, per IndustriALL.
- Plant: Lockout from 21 July to 21 August 2012; damage put by Maruti at under Rs 10 crore.
- Verdict: 117 acquitted; 31 convicted; 13 life terms, 4 five-year terms, 14 released on time served.
Where things stand in 2025-26
A High Court order of August 2017 records the convicts' appeal, CRA-D-502-DB of 2017 (Sandeep and others v. State of Haryana), as pending P&H High Court. PUDR's 2018 report said the state had also appealed, seeking the death penalty EPW. No High Court ruling on either appeal has been reported in the sources reviewed for this page.
Dismissed workers are still fighting the terminations. On 7 November 2025, Gurugram's Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court refused reinstatement to former worker Ram Niwas, accepting the company's "loss of confidence" ground. His name was not in the FIR or the SIT report. The tribunal wrote that it should not succumb to "showing empathy and compassion to the wrong doer workman" The Leaflet.
In January 2025, police cleared a months-long sit-in at Manesar by temporary workers, and detained 76 protesters on 30 January. Their demands included reinstatement of workers "suspended after the violence at the Manesar plant in 2012" The Wire.
Questions people ask
What happened at Maruti's Manesar plant in 2012?
On 18 July 2012, a dispute over the suspension of a worker turned violent. Part of the plant was set on fire, GM (HR) Awanish Kumar Dev died, and Maruti says 96 supervisors and managers were hurt. Police later charged 148 workers.
Who was Awanish Kumar Dev?
He was the general manager of human resources at the Manesar plant, aged 50, and had joined Maruti in June 2010. A post-mortem reported he died of suffocation in a burning building and had multiple leg fractures.
Why were Maruti workers striking in 2011?
Manesar workers wanted their own union instead of the company-recognised Gurgaon union, and better terms for contract workers. They struck in June 2011 and again from August to October, when the company demanded a "good conduct bond".
How many Maruti workers were convicted?
31 of the 148 accused were convicted in March 2017 and 117 were acquitted. Thirteen got life sentences, four got five years, and 14 were released on time already served.
Who got life imprisonment in the Maruti case?
Thirteen former workers, including union president Ram Mehar. According to Scroll and PUDR, they were the union's 12 office-bearers and Jiya Lal, the worker whose suspension started the dispute.
Is the Maruti Manesar case still going on?
Yes. The convicts' appeals and the state's appeal for harsher sentences were filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and no decision has been reported. Dismissed workers are also still contesting their terminations in labour courts.
Sources
- Tribune: 13-day strike at Maruti ends, 17 June 2011
- Business Today: Maruti scouts for new workers after latest hiccup at Manesar, 31 Aug 2011
- PTI via Business Today: Labour unrest at Maruti's Manesar plant ends, 1 Oct 2011
- IMF (IndustriALL archive): Maruti Suzuki workers in India end the impasse, 3 Oct 2011
- PRI: India's Maruti workers say union leaders sold them out, 7 Nov 2011
- Maruti Suzuki Workers Union: Press statement (reproduced by Radical Notes), 19 July 2012
- Tribune: Maruti arson coverage, post-mortem, CM and CPI(M) statements, 21 July 2012
- Business Today: Section 144 imposed at Maruti Manesar plant after violence, 25 July 2012
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Maoist angle in Maruti violence to be probed, 2 Aug 2012
- Business Today/IANS: Union leaders sent to 7-day police custody, 3 Aug 2012
- Maruti Suzuki: Press release on lifting the Manesar lock-out, 16 Aug 2012
- Tribune: Maruti sacks 500 workers; production from Aug 21, 17 Aug 2012
- AFP via IndustryWeek: India's top carmaker Maruti fires 500 workers over riot, Aug 2012
- The Peninsula: No relief for 148 jailed Maruti workers, 24 Aug 2014
- PUDR: Release 145 undertrial Maruti workers on bail, 1 Mar 2015
- Punjab and Haryana High Court: Ram Mehar and Ors v. State of Haryana (CRM-M 482 of 2016), 9 Mar 2016
- Scroll: Four years after a riot at Maruti's Manesar plant, questions remain, 18 July 2016
- Business Today: Maruti violence case: 31 convicted, 117 acquitted, 10 Mar 2017
- IndustriALL: 117 workers acquitted and 31 convicted in Maruti Suzuki case, 10 Mar 2017
- PTI via Tribune: 13 former Maruti workers get life term, 18 Mar 2017
- Business Standard: Maruti-Manesar saga: 13 former workers sentenced for life, 18 Mar 2017
- The Wire: Maruti Suzuki violence in Manesar, a retrospective, 19 Mar 2017
- Scroll: Haryana court verdict in Maruti case repeats pattern of years, say workers, 26 Mar 2017
- Punjab and Haryana High Court: Suresh Kumar v. State of Haryana (CRWP 932 of 2017), 16 Aug 2017
- EPW: The Pre-decided Maruti Suzuki Case, 16 June 2018
- The Wire: Haryana police detain Maruti Suzuki protesters, 31 Jan 2025
- The Leaflet: Twelve years after the Maruti Manesar violence, 4 Jan 2026