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Anjana Mittal v. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 835Decided 30 Jul 2019
Civil Appeal No. 5937 of 2019
Justice Uday Umesh Lalit · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

The appellant, a temporary employee of ONGC since 1983, was absent for 1968 days over seven years (later sanctioned ex-post-facto as medical leave) before a Medical Board found the leave disproportionate to her stated ailments. ONGC terminated her services in 1994. She initially pursued the wrong legal forum (a writ petition) for over fourteen years before approaching the Labour Court in 2008, which eventually set aside her termination; the High Court later upheld reinstatement but with modifications on back wages, leading both the employee and ONGC to cross-appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court declined to disturb the setting aside of the termination order but held that, given her prolonged and disproportionate absenteeism (averaging 281 days a year for seven years) and the fourteen-year delay in approaching the correct forum, she was not entitled to full back wages. The Court modified the High Court's order to award her only 10% back wages along with reinstatement and consequential benefits, while making clear that although she would be treated as reinstated, ONGC would not be obliged to actually take work from her and could instead pay her salary until her superannuation (due in May 2020).

Lesson Learnt

Even where a dismissal is eventually found unlawful and reinstatement is ordered, courts can scale back monetary relief like back wages where the employee's own conduct (habitual absenteeism, or long delay in approaching the right forum) contributed to the outcome: reinstatement and full back wages do not automatically go together.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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