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The State of Maharashtra & Anr. v. Kishor M. Gadhave Patil & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2017 INSC 859Decided 5 Sept 2017
Civil Appeal No. 11199 of 2017
Justice R.K. Agrawal · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

The Maharashtra government had appointed 15 advocates as Additional Government Pleaders/Assistant Government Pleaders/Additional Public Prosecutors at the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, but later cancelled all their appointments in August 2015 using a rule meant for removal for misconduct. The High Court quashed the cancellation order, and the State appealed to the Supreme Court. By the time the appeal was heard, the respondents' terms of appointment had already expired by the passage of time, making the original relief largely moot.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that since the respondents' terms had already expired, they could no longer be reinstated regardless of the outcome. Instead of simply upholding or quashing the cancellation order, the Court modified it to be treated as a termination under Rule 30(6) (termination with notice/retainer) rather than Rule 30(5) (removal for misconduct), since the latter carried a stigmatic, punitive character. The State was directed to pay each respondent one month's retainer in lieu of notice within three months, while leaving the broader question of law raised in the appeal open for a future case.

Lesson Learnt

Even when a legal dispute becomes practically infructuous (here, because the posts' terms had expired), courts can still fashion a fair, proportionate remedy, distinguishing a stigmatic "removal for misconduct" from a neutral "termination," which matters for the employee's reputation and dues even after the job itself is gone.

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

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