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Punjab State Electricity Board v. Raj Kumar Goel

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 8366 of 2014)Decided 29 Aug 2014
Civil Appeal No. 8366 of 2014
Justice Dipak Misra · Justice Vikramajit Sen

Background

An electricity board clerk was punished for prolonged unauthorised absence by withholding five annual increments without cumulative effect. He accepted the misconduct finding and penalty but sued over its implementation, claiming each withheld increment had to be restored at the end of that individual year. The lower courts agreed and awarded arrears.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the board's appeal, set aside the lower courts' decrees and dismissed the clerk's suit. Withholding five annual increments without cumulative effect means those increments are not paid during the five-year penalty period. In the sixth year they are added to the regular increment, without arrears for the penalty years. This differs from a cumulative penalty, which permanently shifts the employee's pay progression downwards. The lower courts had confused temporary withholding throughout the specified period with a permanent loss of increments.

Lesson Learnt

A penalty without cumulative effect can still reduce salary throughout its stated period; restoration afterwards does not mean arrears are payable for the years of punishment.

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

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