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Divisional Manager and Ors. v. Vinayak Chintaman Gawande and Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 5393 of 2016)Decided 29 Jun 2016
Civil Appeal No. 5393 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

This order sends the case back; it does not decide the dispute. A Labour Court award directing reinstatement with back wages was set aside by the Industrial Court and then restored by the High Court. By an earlier interim order of 30 March 2015, the Supreme Court had directed regularisation of service from 30 June 2000, limited the case to the question of back wages and stayed back wages in the meantime.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final decision on the dispute. The Court recorded that the Labour Court had never decided the back wages claim for the relevant period. It sent that one question back to the Labour Court for a fresh decision and continued the stay on back wages until the Labour Court decides. The Labour Court, Chandrapur, Maharashtra, was directed to decide within roughly six months of the parties' appearance on 8 August 2016.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether back wages are payable or how much. That question remains with the Labour Court.

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

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