CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has quashed an order issued by the Central Administrative Tribunal (Cuttack Bench) for payment of back wages to an employee for the period from the date he was dismissed from service on conviction till his reinstatement on acquittal in a criminal case not connected with his service.
The Tribunal had issued the direction in the case of Sudhir Kumar Narendra, a branch post master on June 3, 2020, who was dismissed from service from July 15, 1997 after the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Puri convicted him in the criminal case. But he was reinstated in service on May 21,2008 after the high court set aside the trial court judgment on January 15, 2008.
Narendra was working at the Garh Balabhadrapur branch post office in Puri district. While the petition was pending before CAT he died, and was substituted by his legal heirs. Subsequently, the Central government challenged the tribunal order in the high court in a writ appeal. Advocate Debasis Tripathy argued the case on the Central government’s behalf. The judgment on it was released on April 24.
The two-judge bench of Justice BR Sarangi and Justice Gourishankar Satapathy quashed the CAT order saying for the period from July 15, 1997 to January 15, 2008, which has been treated as put off-duty, the deceased employee is not entitled to get any payment as he had not rendered any service for the department. “Thereby, the Tribunal has committed a gross error apparent on the face of the record by allowing the benefit of back wages for the period which is not permissible to the deceased employee,” the bench ruled.
The bench further ruled, “The reason, for which the deceased employee was under put off duty, is on account of his involvement in a criminal proceeding and conviction in the same. Therefore, the authorities are well within their right to deny back wages to the deceased employee for the period he was not in service.” The bench, however, said the put off-duty period should be counted for the purpose of eligibility for sanction of ex-gratia gratuity and severance allowance.