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State of U.P. v. Charan Singh

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 2381 of 2007)Decided 26 Mar 2015
Civil Appeal No. 2381 of 2007
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

Charan Singh, a temporary Tube-well Operator with U.P.'s Fisheries Department, was terminated in 1975 after about a year and a half of service. He challenged the termination as illegal for not complying with the mandatory retrenchment procedure under Section 6-N of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. After a long delay, an Industrial Tribunal in 1997 held the termination illegal and ordered reinstatement, but without back wages; the workman did not join the alternative post offered to him, leading to further litigation, and the Allahabad High Court eventually upheld reinstatement and awarded full back wages for part of the intervening period.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the long and complicated history of the dispute and agreed that the termination was illegal. It modified the back-wages relief: the State was held liable to pay 50% back wages from the date of termination (22.08.1975) until the date of the Tribunal's Award (24.02.1997), while the High Court's award of full back wages for the later period (24.02.1997 to 31.01.2005) was retained. The State was directed to pay the balance back wages, computed on the revised pay scale along with other monetary benefits, within four weeks, and the appeal was dismissed subject to this modification, with the earlier stay order vacated and no costs awarded.

Lesson Learnt

When an employer fails to follow the mandatory procedure for terminating a workman under industrial law, courts can order reinstatement with back wages even many years later, though the proportion of back wages awarded may be split between different periods depending on the circumstances and delay involved.

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

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