Withdrawal Of VRS Permissible Before Effective Date; Consequential Benefits Barred By Estoppel If Post-Retirement Employment Availed: Chhattisgarh HC

A Division Bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court comprising Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Radhakishan Agrawal held that an employee can withdraw a notice of voluntary retirement any time before it becomes effective under Rule 67(4) of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, however, he is estopped from claiming consequential service benefits if he has availed post-retirement benefits. Background Facts The employee was serving as a Chief Station Master at Dagori Railway...

Termination Of Trainee Cadet For Isolated Act Committed Under Severe Mental Distress, Without Dishonest Intent Is Shockingly Disproportionate: Delhi HC

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held that termination of a trainee cadet for an isolated act committed under severe mental distress, without dishonest intent is shockingly disproportionate and violates the principles of natural justice. Background Facts The petitioner cleared the NDA entrance examination...

Selection Criteria Cannot Be Changed After Interview : Supreme Court

Reaffirming that selection criteria cannot be altered once the final stage of evaluation is complete, the Supreme Court dismissed the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board's appeal against the High Court's direction to create an additional post for candidates adversely affected by the post-interview change in criteria for the Forester recruitment. The Court held that modifying...

Vigilance Bureau Staff Entitled To Equal Pay As Other Police Units From 2015: Patna High Court Upholds Retrospective Additional Salary

The Patna High Court has confirmed that Vigilance Bureau staff are entitled to retrospective parity in additional salary benefits, bringing them in line with other Bihar Police units.The matter was decided by the bench of ACJ Sudhir Singh and Justice Rajesh Kumar Verma.The case stemmed from a Single Judge decision holding that the policy dated 30.06.2017—granting one month's additional...

Employee Can't Decide Location Of Anganwari Centre, Must Abide By Directions: HP High Court

The Himachal Pradesh High Court upheld the termination of an angwari worker who repeatedly disobeyed the departmental orders to shift the Anganwari Centre from her home to the local Mahila Mandal Bhawan.The Court held it was not her decision to decide the location, she was merely supposed to abide by the directions. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua remarked that:“It was not for the petitioner...

Employees Provident Fund Act | EPFO Cannot Issue Prohibitory Order U/S 8-F Without Prior Notice To Debtor: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that the Employees Provident Fund Organisation cannot issue a prohibitory order under Section 8-F of the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, without first issuing a notice to the debtor of the employer and giving an opportunity to file a statement on oath, as mandated under Section 8-F(3)(i) and (vi). The Court observed that the...

Standard Of Family's Indigence For Compassionate Appointment Can't Be Interpreted As 'Beggary': Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has held that the technical definition of “indigent” under Order XXXIII, Rule 1 of CPC, could not be transposed mechanically into the domain of compassionate appointment as that would reduce the scheme illusory,by imposing a threshold that no eligible family could practically meet.“Indigent Person” under CPC meant that a person who did not possess sufficient...

Karnataka High Court Quashes Overnight Removal Of Govt Pleader; Says 'Doctrine Of Pleasure' Not A Licence For Arbitrary Action

The Karnataka High Court has set aside a notification cancelling the appointment of an Additional District Government Pleader within 24-hours of his appointment and appointing another advocate in his place.A single judge, Justice M Nagaprasanna said,“The appointment made is on one day, and undone the next day, within a span of just 24 hours. The petitioner so appointed, as Government...

Ad Hoc Or Temporary Service Counts Toward Pension Only For Employees Governed By Pre-NPS Rules: J&K&L High Court

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has clarified that temporary or ad hoc service can be counted as qualifying service for pension only in cases where the employee is governed by the pension regime that existed before the New Pension Scheme (“NPS”) came into force.The ruling came while examining whether ad hoc service rendered before regularisation could be used to...

Part-Time Or Guest Faculty Cannot Substitute Full-Time Assistant Professors: J&K&L High Court

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that part-time or guest faculty cannot be used as substitutes for whole-time Assistant Professors required to teach multiple subjects in the Faculty of Law.The Court emphasised that while universities may engage part-time experts for specialised or newly introduced subjects, these arrangements cannot replace the necessity of...

Voluntary Retirement Deemed Accepted If Not Rejected Within Stipulated Period; Subsequent Demand For Technical Resignation Invalid: Delhi HC

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla held that voluntary retirement is deemed automatically accepted if not expressly rejected within the stipulated period, and any subsequent demand for technical resignation cannot override a retirement that has already taken effect. Background Facts The employee was working as...

“Toil Without Wages Strikes At Heart Of Human Dignity”: Karnataka High Court Directs Release Of 19 Months' Pending Salary To Govt Teachers

In a case concerning government teachers who had not been paid their salaries for 19 months, the Karnataka High Court recently said, “To force these teachers or indeed any employee, to toil without wages strikes at the very heart of human dignity and stands in stark violation of Article 23 of the Constitution of India, which proscribes begar in all its forms.”Justice M. Nagaprasanna made...