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District Basic Education Officer Allahabad v. Sushila Jaiswal (Dead) through her LRs

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 533Decided 17 May 2018
Civil Appeal No. 5628 of 2018
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

Sushila Jaiswal, an assistant teacher at a government-aided school in Allahabad, went on medical leave and was then not allowed to rejoin when she returned in 2002 because the school doubted her fitness to teach. Years of litigation followed: she was eventually found fit, reinstated in 2010, but almost immediately took voluntary retirement, and a dispute arose over whether she was owed nearly eight years of back salary for the period she was kept out. The High Court (Single Judge and Division Bench) had ruled in her favour, ordering payment of arrears with interest, and the Education Officer appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the teacher had made no serious effort to pursue her legal rights for years after 2002, that she showed clear physical difficulty in standing (even using a walker) when she finally appeared, and that she voluntarily retired within days of being allowed to rejoin after working for only 36 days. Given these facts, the Court found it unsustainable to require the department to pay nearly ten years' salary for a period in which she had barely worked, and held the "no work no pay" order passed by the department was correct and justified. It allowed the appeal, set aside the High Court's judgment, and dismissed the writ petition that had sought the arrears.

Lesson Learnt

Claims for back-pay during a long period of absence from work can fail if the employee did not actively pursue the dispute for years and there is genuine doubt about fitness to work during that period: "no work, no pay" can be upheld even after an employee is ultimately reinstated.

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

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