Dismissal for unauthorised absence set aside; reinstatement ordered with three future increments withheld.

The respondent, a driver-cum-conductor appointed in 2007, was charged with unauthorised absence beginning on 30 April 2022.

Following a departmental enquiry, the Corporation dismissed him on 25 January 2024.

The Labour Court set aside the dismissal and substituted a penalty of withholding two future increments with cumulative effect, while directing reinstatement with continuity of service.

The Corporation challenged that award under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution

The petition invoked the High Court’s jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution

The judgment does not identify or apply any specific statutory provision or precedent governing disciplinary punishment or Labour Court review.

It proceeds on the case-specific basis that the Labour Court’s findings on the charges disclosed no error, and that the punishment and relief could be adjusted to meet the ends of justice

The High Court noted that the Labour Court had considered the evidence and recorded findings on the charges, and found no error in those findings

It also considered the nature of the charges and the respondent’s affidavit offering to forgo one additional increment beyond the two already imposed by the Labour Court

Concluding that the ends of justice required a further adjustment, the Court substituted a penalty of withholding three future increments with cumulative effect and specified the treatment of the absence and the financial consequences of reinstatement

The dismissal was set aside, and the Labour Court’s award was modified: the Corporation was directed to reinstate the respondent within four weeks, with continuity of service; three future increments were to be withheld with cumulative effect; the absence was to be treated as leave without pay; and the respondent was denied back wages and consequential benefits from dismissal until reinstatement.

No order as to costs was made