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Surekha Domaji Bele v. Executive Engineer, Testing Division, MSEDCL

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 639Decided 11 Jun 2026
C.A. No.-008459-008460 - 2026 (@ Diary No. 11294 of 2025)
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh

Background

The appellant, a Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) clerk with over two decades of service, was dismissed from service in 2017 following disciplinary proceedings, with her earlier suspension period also treated as an additional punishment. She claimed the action was a "counterblast" to service grievances and disputes she had previously raised against the management, including a successful earlier challenge to a transfer order. Her challenges before the Labour Court, Industrial Court, and the Bombay High Court (including a review) all failed, leading her to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court left undisturbed the underlying finding that misconduct had been proved against the appellant (as adjudicated by the Labour Court and affirmed by the Industrial Court), and also upheld that the Executive Engineer had the competence to pass the punishment order. However, it held that treating her suspension period as an additional punishment was impermissible and set that aside. Crucially, the Court found the penalty of dismissal wholly disproportionate to the proved misconduct, noting the disciplinary authority had relied on an earlier, since-invalidated domestic enquiry without issuing a fresh show-cause notice addressing the new evidentiary basis (the Labour Court's findings) and without properly weighing her long service, clean past record, age, and the absence of any financial loss or dishonesty. Since she had already crossed superannuation age, reinstatement could not be ordered, but the Court directed the disciplinary authority to issue a fresh show-cause notice within four weeks and pass a reasoned order on an appropriate lesser penalty within eight weeks, and separately directed payment of subsistence allowance for specified periods of her suspension.

Lesson Learnt

Even where misconduct is proved against an employee, the punishment imposed must be proportionate: disciplinary authorities must genuinely weigh factors like long, largely unblemished service, absence of financial loss or dishonesty, and age before resorting to the extreme penalty of dismissal, and employees are entitled to a proper show-cause opportunity specifically addressing the punishment once the evidentiary basis for a charge changes (such as after an earlier enquiry is invalidated and replaced by new proceedings).

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

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