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Oriental Bank of Commerce v. Vijay Bhai Govindbhai Patni

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 586Decided 5 Jul 2018
Civil Appeal No. 6074 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul

Background

A lower court/tribunal judgment directed Oriental Bank of Commerce to appoint the respondent as a Part Time Sweeper, effective 2008, with 50% back wages. The Bank, aggrieved by this direction, appealed to the Supreme Court via a Special Leave Petition, but during the hearing offered instead to appoint the respondent as a Full Time Sweeper.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court granted leave and accepted the Bank's offer, finding that a full-time appointment would better serve the respondent's interests than the part-time role with back wages originally ordered. The Court disposed of the appeal by directing the Bank to offer the respondent a Full Time Sweeper position within two weeks, modifying the impugned judgment to that extent, with no order as to costs.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will readily approve a settlement or modified offer during an appeal if it leaves the aggrieved party (here, the long-pending employee) materially better off than the original order: litigants can use the appellate stage to negotiate a more practical resolution rather than fighting the original direction outright.

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

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