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State of U.P. & Anr. Etc. vs Baleshwar Singh & Ors.

Not available · 2023 INSC 1031Decided 9 Nov 2023
Not available
Abhay S. Oka · Pankaj Mithal

Background

After Uttar Pradesh was split to create Uttarakhand in 2000, a government forester, Baleshwar Singh, and a colleague, Mahendra Pratap Singh, mutually agreed to swap postings between the two states in 2008. When a later Uttarakhand High Court ruling upset this mutual-transfer policy, Uttar Pradesh was directed by the Allahabad High Court in 2012 to let Baleshwar Singh resume duty there, but the state neither complied nor formally challenged the order, instead it quietly wrote to Uttarakhand asking that his relieving order be cancelled. As a result, Baleshwar Singh was left without a posting, salary, or retiral benefits for years, even undergoing a liver transplant during this period.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that Uttar Pradesh's own conduct, ignoring a clear 2012 court order and trying to circumvent it through backdoor correspondence rather than seeking modification or clarification, was squarely to blame for the employee's prolonged hardship. It upheld the Allahabad High Court's direction that Uttar Pradesh pay Baleshwar Singh's salary and consequential benefits without disturbing the other employee's promotion, and additionally directed payment of pending retiral dues (calculated on his correct 30 June 2016 superannuation date) with simple interest of 6% per annum, rising to 9% if not paid within three months, plus Rs. 10,000 costs.

Lesson Learnt

A government department cannot sit on a binding court order and try to work around it through unilateral letters to another authority; if it disagrees with an order, the proper course is to seek its modification or review, not quiet non-compliance, and employees wrongfully denied postings or benefits due to such inter-departmental disputes are entitled to full back pay, retiral dues, and interest.

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

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