Back wages

A person who was sacked by his company succeeded in obtaining a decree for reinstatement wherein it was held that the termination order was void ab initio (void right from the date of issue). The employee initiated proceedings to claim back wages. The employer contended that according to the terms of the decree, he was merely entitled to reinstatement. Rejecting the employee’s contention, the Supreme Court held that he would have been entitled to the same if the decree specifically mentioned payment of the amount concerned

(Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation vs Shyam Bihari Lal Gupta).

Act fast

A memorandum of charges was issued to the superintending engineer, Tamil Nadu Housing Board, in 2000, accusing him of certain irregularities regarding a sale deed that took place in 1990. No explanation, however, was given for the delay in issuing the memo. The Supreme Court held that as the Tamil Nadu Housing Board Act required the board to submit abstracts of accounts and audit of such accounts every year, the irregularities should have been taken into consideration the very next year. The court further said protracted disciplinary proceedings should be avoided in the interest of employees (P. Mahadevan vs SE Tamil Nadu Housing Board).

No relation

In a murder case, the accused appealed that the evidence of the sole witness in the case could not be relied upon because he was a close relative of the deceased. Rejecting the plea, the Supreme Court held that if the evidence of the witness was found to be credible, it could not be discarded merely because the person was related to the victim (Seeman alias Veeranam vs State).

SOLON