Important point
When punishment of termination is awarded for hitting and injuring a superior officer supervising the work of the employee, with no extenuating circumstance established, it cannot be said to be not justified. It cannot be termed unduly harsh or disproportionate.

Headnote:Industrial Disputes Act, 1947—Section 11A—Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1962—Section 107A—Order of termination—Charge against the employee of hitting a superior officer with a tension screw on his back and on his nose—According to employer, consequent on the incident, the employee remained unauthorizedly absent for about three weeks—Labour Court took the view that punishment of termination inflicted on the employee was punitive in nature—Exercising its powers under Section 107A of the Madhya Pradesh Act, Labour Court set aside punishment of termination and ordered reinstatement of the employee but without back wages—Whether interference with the punishment by the Labour Court was justified—(No)—Whether punishment imposed was so harsh or so disproportionate to the charge proved, that it warranted or justified interference by the Labour Court—(No)—Labour Court and the High Court totally misdirected themselves while exercising their jurisdiction—Industrial Court made the correct approach and came to the right conclusion.
       Held : It is clear from the findings recorded and the materials available before us, that the charge against the employee of hitting a superior officer with an implement and causing him injury stood proved, as also his absence from duty without intimation. In fact, the Labour Court has found nothing wrong with the domestic enquiry wherein the charges were found to have been proved. The Labour Court also proceeded on the basis that the charges were proved. The Industrial Court in appeal accepted the finding that the charges against the employee were proved. The High Court also held that the charges against the employee stood proved on the facts of this case. The High Court also took note of the fact that the employee did not even challenge this part of the finding of the Labour Court in the appeal, he filed before the Industrial Court. Thus, it is clear that there is no reason for this Court to interfere with the finding that the charges against the employee stood proved, even assuming that the employee, the appellant in Civil Appeal No. 1340 of 2003, is permitted to raise the question regarding the proving of the charges against him. We were taken through the relevant materials. The materials clearly disclose that the charges were proved. We have, therefore, only to ask ourselves whether in the face of the charges proved, it was proper for the Labour Court or for the High Court to interfere with the punishment imposed by the employer. (Para 6)
       Here, it had been clearly found that the employee during work, had hit his superior officer with a tension screw on his back and on his nose leaving him with a bleeding and broken nose. It has also been found that this incident was followed by the unauthorized absence of the employee. It is in the context of these charges found established that the punishment of termination was imposed on the employee. The jurisdiction under Section 107A of the Act to interfere with punishment when it is a discharge or dismissal can be exercised by the Labour Court only when it is satisfied that the discharge or dismissal is not justified. Similarly, the High Court gets jurisdiction to interfere with the punishment in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India only when it finds that the punishment imposed, is shockingly disproportionate to the charge proved. (Para 8)
       In the case on hand, the employee has been found guilty of hitting and injuring his superior officer at the work place, obviously in the presence of other employees. This clearly amounted to breach of discipline in the organization. Discipline at the work place in an organization like the employer herein, is the sine qua non for the efficient working of the organization. When an employee breaches such discipline and the employer terminates his services, it is not open to a Labour Court or an Industrial Tribunal to take the view that the punishment awarded is shockingly disproportionate to the charge proved. We have already referred to the views of this Court. To quote Jack Chan, “discipline is a form of civilly responsible behaviour which helps maintain social order and contributes to the preservation, if not advancement, of collective interests of society at large.” Obviously this idea is more relevant in considering the working of an organization like the employer herein or an industrial undertaking. Obedience to authority in a workplace is not slavery. It is not violative of one’s natural rights. It is essential for the prosperity of the organization as well as that of its employees. When in such a situation, a punishment of termination is awarded for hitting and injuring a superior officer supervising the work of the employee, with no extenuating circumstance established, it cannot be said to be not justified. It cannot certainly be termed unduly harsh or disproportionate. The Labour Court and the High Court in this case totally misdirected themselves while exercising their jurisdiction. The Industrial Court made the correct approach and came to the right conclusion. (Para 9)

Judgment

P.K. Balasubramanyan, J.—The appeal C.A.No. 1339 of 2003 is by the employer. C.A.No. 1340 of 2003 is by the employee. The employee was working as a muster roll labourer in the employer-Organization. On 19.01.1984, while in employment, he allegedly physically assaulted a superior officer A.K. Singh, Sub-Engineer. He hit him with a tension screw on his back and on his nose. The blow on the nose allegedly resulted in fracture of the nose and severe bleeding. According to the employer, consequent on the incident, the employee remained unauthorizedly absent for about three weeks. A show cause notice along with a memo of charges based on his assault on the superior officer and his unauthorized absence from duty, was served on him. He was charged with violating the service rules of the employer-organization. Pursuant to the objections filed by the employee, an enquiry officer was appointed to hold a domestic enquiry. A proper enquiry was held. The Enquiry Officer found the charges proved and submitted a report on that basis. On 14.9.1984, based on the findings, the services of the employee were terminated with effect from 15.9.1984.

2. At the instance of the employee, a reference was made to the Labour Court. The Labour Court did not disagree with the finding at the enquiry either on the inflicting of injuries on the superior officer or on the unauthorized absence and the consequent violations of the services rules. The Labour Court took the view that the punishment of termination inflicted on the employee was punitive in nature. The employee had been kept out of service till the date of the decision by that Court and that was enough punishment in the circumstances. Therefore, exercising its powers under Section 107 A of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1962, which correspondents to Section 11A of the Industrial Disputes Act, the Labour Court set aside the punishment of termination and ordered reinstatement of the employee but without back wages. The employer filed an appeal before the Industrial Court challenging the interference with the punishment. The employee filed an appeal challenging the denial of back wages. In the appeal filed by the employer, the Industrial Court took the view that the Labour Court acted illegally and perversely in interfering with the punishment awarded on the findings at the enquiry accepted by the Labour Court. Therefore, the Appellate Authority, the Industrial Court, set aside the interference by the Labour Court with the punishment awarded and held that the termination of service as a punishment was justified in the circumstances. Thus, the order of termination issued by the employer was upheld. As a consequence, the appeal filed by the employee claiming back wages was dismissed.

3. Feeling aggrieved by the decision of the Industrial Court, the employee filed W.P.No. 460 of 1999 in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh invoking Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India. The High Court held that the charges against the employee stood proved and the finding in that behalf by the Labour Court had not been challenged by the employee in the appeal filed by him before the Industrial Court, since his appeal challenged only that part of the order of the Labour Court which denied him back wages. Though, the High Court found no reason to interfere with the finding that the charges were proved, it interfered with the punishment. The reasons given were, that taking into account the entire facts and circumstances of the case, the gravity of the misconduct proved, the past behaviour and all other attendant circumstances appearing on record, the Labour Court was justified in interfering with the quantum of punishment. As an added reason, it stated that while entertaining the Writ Petition, the High Court had stayed the operation of the order of the Industrial Court, upholding the dismissal and that was also a ground for interfering with the punishment. The High Court had no difficulty in obs

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2005 Supreme(SC) 559

Important pointWhen punishment of termination is awarded for hitting and injuring a superior officer supervising the work of the employee, with no extenu­ating circumstance established, it cannot be said to be not justified. It cannot be termed unduly harsh or disproportionate.

Cases Referred (9)

Important point
When punishment of termination is awarded for hitting and injuring a superior officer supervising the work of the employee, with no extenuating circumstance established, it cannot be said to be not justified. It cannot be termed unduly harsh or disproportionate.