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Gopal Dutt Shukla v. Bihar State Road Transport Corporation and Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 854Decided 24 Sept 2018
Civil Appeal No. 9868 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Background

The appellant, an employee of the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation, was compulsorily retired by an order dated 08.10.2004. That order was later set aside and he was reinstated by an order dated 28.11.2007. The dispute before the Supreme Court was whether he was entitled to service benefits for the roughly three-year gap between his compulsory retirement and his reinstatement, during which he did not actually work.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court (after granting leave on the special leave petition) held that while the appellant would normally be entitled to all consequential benefits once the punishment order was set aside, the fact that he had not actually worked during the intervening period meant he could not claim full back wages for that period. It directed the Corporation to treat his service between the date of compulsory retirement and the date of reinstatement as continuous for all purposes (such as seniority, pension, and other service-related benefits), except for actual wages for the period he did not work.

Lesson Learnt

When a punishment such as compulsory retirement is set aside and an employee is reinstated, the intervening period is typically treated as continuous service for benefits like seniority and pension, but the employee is usually not entitled to back wages for time not actually worked, unless the facts justify a different outcome.

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

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