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Dulu Devi v. State of Assam & Ors.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8249 of 2015)Decided 9 Oct 2015
Civil Appeal No. 8249 of 2015
Justice M.Y. Eqbal · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

Dulu Devi was appointed as an Assistant Teacher at a government lower primary school in Assam in 1989, and for years her salary was withheld until a High Court order directed its release. Later, a government list of 193 teachers was prepared that included her name as terminated, and her salary was stopped in 2007. She said she had never been terminated and had never received any termination order, and the High Court dismissed her writ petition on the assumption that she had been terminated.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court's order. It held that the High Court was wrong to assume a termination when she had been working for about 25 years and had been paid throughout. Relying on a Constitution Bench decision (State of Punjab vs Amar Singh Harika), the Court held that a dismissal or termination order has no effect until it is published and communicated to the employee. An internal file or list does not qualify, so she was entitled to continue in service and to all arrears of salary.

Lesson Learnt

An internal office file or list is not a termination. An employer's decision to dismiss someone takes effect only when it is actually communicated to the employee, so a worker who was never served with an order is still in service.

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

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