The division judge bench of the Tripura High Court held that once the court sets aside an order of punishment, on the ground that the inquiry was not properly conducted, the court cannot reinstate the employee. It must remit the case dismissal concerned to the Disciplinary Authority for it to conduct inquiry from the point that it stood vitiated and conclude the same.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the Petitioner was charged with criticizing the respondent-Society through his social media accounts i.e. Twitter handle relentlessly and had also indulged in indiscipline to disturb the normal functioning of the Society and was also liable for indiscipline behavior. The learned Writ Court set aside the order of dismissal of the Petitioner and directed the respondent employer to start the proceeding from the stage of evidence. Aggrieved by this, the Petitioner filed the present application with no direction for the reinstatement.
Contentions of the Petitioner
The Petitioner submitted that the court or tribunal should order the delinquent to be restated during the departmental investigation period if the dismissal was set aside due to a disciplinary inquiry that violated natural justice principles. The issue of back wages and other unresolved matters would only come up after the investigation is over.
The Petitioner also relied upon the judgment titled Managing Director, ECIL, Hyderabad & Ors. vs. B. Karunakar & Ors.
Contentions of the Respondent
The Respondent submitted that the petitioner was given the time to provide his defense statement, and the inquiry report and second show-cause notice—which included the punishment of termination from service—were sent in a suitable way. Following these events, the inquiry processes were carried out effectively.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that if the court decides to set aside a punishment order due to improper investigation, it will not be proper to reinstate the employee. The Disciplinary Authority must be notified of the case dismissal in question so that it can investigate the matter from the beginning to the end and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Based on these considerations, the court rejected the plea of the Petitioner that the learned Writ Court ought to have directed his reinstatement after setting aside the order of dismissal.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court disposed of the appeal.
Case title: Rajesh Das V. Society for Tripura Medical College
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, and Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.D. Purkayastha
Case No.: WA No. 17 of 2024
Advocates for the Appellant: Mr. P Roy Barman, Sr. Advocate. Mr. K Nath, Adv.
Advocates for the Respondent: Mr. SS Dey, Sr. Advocate. Mr. D Bhattacharjee, Sr. Advocate. Mr. A Saha, Advocate. Ms. A Chakraborty, Advocate.
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