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Iswarlal Mohanlal Thakkar v. Paschim Gujarat Vij Company

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 4558 of 2014)Decided 16 Apr 2014
Civil Appeal No. 4558 of 2014
Justice Gyan Sudha Misra · Justice V. Gopala Gowda

Background

An electricity employee was retired using a birth date he said was three years too early. He had sought correction under the employer's opportunity for employees to submit supporting documents and supplied a municipal birth certificate issued following a magistrate's order, along with other records. The Labour Court awarded salary and related benefits for the lost period of service, but the High Court set that award aside.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the employee's appeal and restored the Labour Court's award. The birth certificate and corroborating records supported the later birth date, while the recorded earlier date was inconsistent with his elder brother's birth only five months before it. His correction request fell within the employer's permitted opportunity, and the High Court had improperly replaced the Labour Court's reasoned assessment of the evidence. Full back wages on the revised pay scale and consequential monetary benefits up to the correct retirement date had to be paid within six weeks of receipt of the order; default attracted twelve per cent annual interest from the Labour Court award until payment.

Lesson Learnt

An employee seeking a permitted correction should provide reliable, consistent documentary evidence promptly. A supervisory court must identify a proper legal defect before overturning a labour tribunal's supported factual findings.

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

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