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TAPABRATA CHAKRABORTY, RAJA BASU CHOWDHURY
Ld. District and Sessions Judge – Appellant
Versus
Shabbir Sayyed – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
Tapabrata Chakraborty, J.
1. The present appeal has been preferred challenging the judgment dated 23rd June, 2023 delivered in a writ petition being W.P.A. 642 of 2023.
2. Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts are that the writ petitioner/respondent no.1 in the present appeal, namely, Shri Shabbir Sayyed (in short, Shabbir) was working in the post of lower grade clerk under the appellant no. 2. By a memo dated 10th May, 2021 issued by the appellant no. 2, Shabbir was directed to proceed to Port Blair in the morning of 11th May, 2021 for handing over some urgent letters and for some other miscellaneous work relating to the smooth functioning of the Courts at Mayabunder and to return back to the station at Mayabunder on or before 17th May, 2021. Complying with such directives, Shabbir reached Port Blair on 11th May, 2021 and handed over all relevant documents on 12th May, 2021. On and from 13th May, 2021, lockdown was declared by the District Magistrate, South Andaman District and as such, Shabbir could not join his office on 18th May, 2021. Intimating such fact, Shabbir wrote a letter to the appellant no. 2 on 18th May, 2021 and forwarded the same through WhatsApp on 25th
The absence of an employee during the COVID-19 lockdown cannot be construed as misconduct if the employee was unable to attend his duties due to the restrictions imposed by the administration.
Disciplinary actions must satisfy the test of reasonableness. Imposing severe penalties for absence during a global health crisis without considering extenuating circumstances beyond the employee’s c....
A government servant who is unable to return to his headquarters due to non-availability of public transport during a pandemic is deemed to have joined duty on the date of expiry of official tour.
The absence from duty without application or permission may not always amount to unauthorized absence, especially in the context of compelling circumstances such as illness or quarantine due to COVID....
Neighborhood disputes, especially involving family members, do not constitute official misconduct, and disciplinary proceedings initiated on such grounds without substantial evidence violate principl....
Unauthorized absence from duty must be proven willful to constitute misconduct; penalties must be proportionate to the offense and consider the employee's service record.
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