Termination of employee - whether it is permissible at the time of COVID 19 Pandemic

Dear Professionals, I would like to get your assistance on the query of termination of employee.
We are based in UP Lucknow ( Jewellery Retail Sector), here we have some employees who were not meeting their targets even before the Covid-19 pandemic and we were planning to terminate them on the grounds of Performance Management System.
Abruptly, pandemic struck and due to lock down our decision was pending. So now our offices are again operational and we want to take a call on our pending decision and thinking to terminate 2-3 employees on the grounds of performance issues.
Please let me know whether it is permissible at the time of Pandemic though we are not terminating them due to cost cutting, the actual reason is performance issues.

Were targets specified and made known to employees and documnted?
Was performance revirw conducted and non performance discussed and reasons theteoff?
Management can terminate after giving notice as per terms of appointment letter.
But due consideration needs to be given to reasons adduced by them for non performance.

No, the targets are not documented.
We have only verbally discussed this with the employees.
If we continue to take our call to ask them to leave so in this case what could be the risk on our part by the govt?
Help me in this.

Have you issued Offer of Appointments to them?
If you fulfilled this, mere verbal discussion is not enough.
How many employees are working on the rolls of your company?

Make sure to have their performance KPI score quarterly & half-yearly assessment on documents as per their KRA prior asking them for termination due to performance. Also it needs to be clear, have you provided any training's, if KPI scores found below than expectations, have you sent show cause notice for poor performance?
You can't just terminate an employee on the basis of verbal discussions, it'll be not fair with them.
You need to implement PMS in your firm to avoid these kind of performance grievances.

The course of action will depend on their terms and conditions of employment i.e. appointment letter, standing orders (or model standing orders) etc.
No "workman" can be terminated without following the disciplinary procedure. Not to worry, even if the targets were not documented, you can still issue them chargesheet, citing the prevailing target system in your industry.

Dear Rehana Sayed,
Your basic question is whether it is permissible at the time of Pandemic to terminate non performers and answer to it is, YES.
All earlier orders / directives by MHA are ceased its effect from 18/05/2020 onwards and you can very well terminate your employees now. However, while terminating any employee whether he is a workman within the definition or otherwise, you need to take action with caution.

Thank you everyone for their valuable suggestions.

Dear Member
As rightly pointed out by Akhil, Seperation of employees by the employer is not an offence however it is advisable to follow due process of law.