Aparbal Yadav v. The State of U.P.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 325Decided 10 Apr 2018
Civil Appeal No. 3695 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar · Justice Navin Sinha

Background

The appellant, a teacher with roughly thirty years of service, had his salary stopped by an order dated 25 January 2012 "on the basis of doubt." While his writ petition challenging that order was pending, a Single Judge of the Allahabad High Court stayed the salary-stoppage order as an interim measure. On appeal by the other side, a Division Bench modified that interim arrangement, directing that the status quo as of the date of filing the writ petition (i.e., salary already stopped) be maintained instead, while the writ petition itself was to be decided later.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held there was no justification for the Division Bench to have disturbed the Single Judge's interim order, noting the appellant had worked since 1987 and had been drawing salary until the 2012 order. The Division Bench's modification, which left the appellant without salary pending final disposal of the writ petition, was set aside, and the Single Judge's original interim order (staying the salary stoppage) was restored to continue operating until the writ petition's final disposal. The Court directed that arrears of salary be released within one month, while leaving the underlying writ petition itself to be decided independently by the High Court on its own merits.

Lesson Learnt

Courts are reluctant to disturb interim relief that protects a long-serving employee's livelihood while the underlying dispute is still being litigated; an appellate court should not casually modify a reasoned interim arrangement without due regard to its own effect on the parties.

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