The Managing Director vs Sri K. Muralidhar And Another
2022 Latest Caselaw 583 Tel

  THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA
                                   AND
     THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI



                 WRIT APPEAL No.7 of 2022

JUDGMENT:   (Per the Hon'ble the Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma)


     The present writ appeal has been filed by the appellant -

employer, being aggrieved by the order passed by the learned

Single Judge in W.P.No.14417 of 2002 dated 24.11.2021.

     The facts of the case reveal that the workman in

question was subjected to              disciplinary proceedings on

account of the fact that he was absent without permission for

63½ days in the year 1997.                 An order was passed on

08.03.1998

terminating him from service and finally the

matter has travelled to the Additional Industrial Tribunal -

cum - Additional Labour Court, Hyderabad. The Labour

Court has declined to granted relief to the workman after

going through the evidence on record and an award was

passed on 29.10.2001. Being aggrieved by the said award,

the workman has approached this Court and the learned

Single Judge, after taking into account the fact that the

punishment was shockingly disproportionate to the guilt of

the workman and also keeping in view the time lapse in the

matter, has directed payment of compensation to the

workman in lieu of reinstatement without back wages. The

learned Single Judge has considered the judgment delivered

in the case of Shri Bhagwan Lal Arya v. Commissioner of

Police, Delhi and others1 while awarding Rs.1,00,000/- as

compensation in lieu of reinstatement without back wages.

This Court has carefully gone through the misconduct

of the workman and the punishment inflicted upon him,

which is removal. The workman was unauthorisedly absent

for 63½ days and the punishment is certainly

disproportionate to the guilt of the workman and therefore, in

the considered opinion of this Court, the learned Single Judge

was justified in awarding Rs.1,00,000/- as a lump sum

amount in lieu of reinstatement without back wages and more

so, in order to give a quietus to the long pending litigation.

This Court does not find any reason to interfere with the

order passed by the learned Single Judge.

The writ appeal is accordingly dismissed.

The miscellaneous applications pending, if any, shall

stand closed. There shall be no order as to costs.

______________________________________ SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA, CJ

______________________________________ ABHINAND KUMAR SHAVILI, J

11.02.2022 vs

(2004) 4 SCC 560