IMPORTANT POINT
Production of forged certificate may lead to dismissal from service.

JUDGMENT

KURIAN, J.:

Leave granted.

2. The appellant (hereinafter referred to as "the Management") is aggrieved by the impugned judgment of the High Court whereby the first respondent (hereinafter referred to as "the employee") was directed to be reinstated in service with 50 per cent back wages, reversing the order passed by the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court. The employee, while working with the Management, submitted a certificate purportedly issued by the Indian Institute of Bankers claiming that she had passed the CAIIB Part-II Examination, and on that basis, started drawing additional monetary benefits. The Disciplinary Authority, based on the finding in a domestic enquiry that the certificate was a forged one, dismissed her from service on 01.08.2003. The punishment was upheld by the Appellate Authority vide order dated 10.06.2006. The Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court declined to grant any relief. However, the High Court ordered reinstatement with 50 per cent back wages, and thus aggrieved, the Management has filed the appeal.

3. The only ground on which the High Court interfered with the award was that the Management had not established, by leading evidence, that the employee was aware of the fact that the certificate produced before the Management was forged. To quote from impugned judgment:

"6. The question, therefore, before the Enquiry Officer was whether the petitioner knew at the time of submission of the forged document that it was forged one. The Presenting Officer in the domestic enquiry did not lead any evidence to prove the knowledge and it appears that everyone went on presuming that the petitioner knew about the forgery since prior to its production before the employer. Due to the fact that she produced it on the employer's record and that she received monetary benefits because of such production, every one believed that she ought to know that it was a forgery. This conclusion of the Enquiry Officer is grossly incorrect because it is based on guess work. He could have said that there is strong doubt in his mind that the petitioner knew before hand that the certificate was a forgery. But, he ought to have asked the Presenting Officer to lead further evidence to prove that the petitioner knew that the document she produced was forgery. Neither the Presenting Officer realised this gross lacuna in their case. On the basis of this guess and doubt, the enquiry officer held the petitioner guilty of misconduct. This, in my view was grossly incorrect decision."

4. We find it difficult to appreciate the strange stand taken by the High Court. The Labour Court had clearly analysed the entire evidence and had come to the conclusion that the employee was fully aware of the forgery. The Tribunal took note of the fact that she had produced a copy of the postal receipt of dispatching the certificate from the Institute of Bankers in her evidence but failed to explain the source of the postal receipt. It also took note of the fact that the alleged certificate of having passed the examination is dated 04.09.2000. If that be so, there was no occasion for asking for any re-verification of the marks by filing an application dated 08.09.2000. Still further, the Court extensively referred to the reply furnished by the Institute of Bankers and came to the conclusion that the certificate was a forged one. To quote from paragraph-10 of the award dated 30.08.2011 passed by the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court:

"10. ....The workman has claimed that she received the pass certificates from the Indian Institute of Bankers by registered speed post in her home address and filed the same before the authority. In support of her claim, she filed an envelope to show that the certificate in question was sent to her in the said envelop by the Indian Institute of Bankers. However, from by merely filing of the envelope, it cannot be held that the certificate in question was sent by the Institute in question to the workman in the said envelo