Reinstated employees are entitled to notional pay fixation from the date of original termination.

The Petitioner, Lalit Bansal, filed a Contempt Petition alleging willful disobedience by the respondents regarding the directions issued in a common judgment dated 08.02.2023 in O.A. No. 318/2020, read with the Hon’ble High Court’s order dated 30.07.2025

The original order directed the respondents to reinstate the applicant within four weeks and granted entitlement to consequential benefits on a strictly notional basis for the intervening period between termination and reinstatement

While the respondents initially issued a compliance order on 30.01.2026, they later admitted to an "inadvertent error" and issued a corrigendum on 25.03.2026 to rectify the terms of benefit entitlement

1. Whether the respondents willfully disobeyed the Tribunal's directions regarding reinstatement and the grant of notional consequential benefits

2. Whether the subsequent actions of the respondents, including the issuance of the corrigendum dated 25.03.2026, constitute sufficient compliance to discharge the contempt notices

mandated reinstatement and "consequential benefits... strictly on notional basis"

The court also relied on the administrative principle that a "corrigendum" can be used to rectify inadvertent errors in compliance orders to align them with judicial mandates

The Tribunal examined the respondents' progress toward fulfilling the 2023 judgment. It was noted that the petitioner had already been reinstated in service from the date of his original termination

Regarding the financial aspect, the respondents admitted that the initial compliance order was flawed but corrected it via a corrigendum dated 25.03.2026, which explicitly granted notional benefits from the date of termination

The Tribunal took note of the respondents’ undertaking that the notional fixation of pay and disbursement of associated benefits would be completed by the end of the month

Because the respondents demonstrated active steps to rectify errors and fulfilled the primary directive of reinstatement, the Tribunal found no grounds for "willful disobedience"

The Contempt Petition was closed, and the contempt notices were discharged. The court ordered that benefits must be disbursed by the end of the month. However, the petitioner was granted liberty to agitate any surviving grievances in accordance with the law. No order as to costs was made.