Officers Facing Temporary Illness Entitled To Promotion After Regaining SHAPE I Medical Category, Delhi High Court Grants Promotion To Army Personnel

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur granted promotion to an Army Personnel to the Post of Assistant Commandant which was denied to the Petitioner on Medical Grounds. The Bench held that the Respondents had not provided sufficient reasons as to why the Petitioner was not detailed in a Course that was mandatory to determine...

Disciplinary Proceedings Need Only 'Preponderance of Probability', Not 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt': Madras HC

Madras High Court: A Division Bench of Justice M.S. Ramesh and Justice C. Kumarappan upheld the dismissal of two Greaves Cotton Limited workers accused of engine sabotage. The court reaffirmed that disciplinary proceedings need only meet the “preponderance of probability” standard rather than criminal law's “beyond reasonable doubt” threshold. The court found the...

Recovery Of Time-Bound Promotion Benefits (Kramonnati) From Work Charged Employees Illegal, Benefits Must Continue; MP HC

Madhya Pradesh High Court: A Single Judge Bench of Justice Vivek Jain upheld work charged employees' right to time-bound promotion benefits (kramonnati), quashing recovery orders issued against them. The Court held that work charged and contingency paid employees constitute a common class under service rules, entitled to identical benefits including kramonnati. Rejecting...

Withholding Retiral Benefits Due To Pending Criminal Case Unrelated To Employee's Official Duties Violates Right To Life: Rajasthan HC

Rajasthan High Court ruled that withholding retirement benefits of an employee only on the ground of pendency of criminal proceedings which had nothing to do with the official duties was unjustified and violative of right to life because these were the sources by which the employee arrange for their necessities post retirement.“The pension, gratuity and other retiral benefits are the...

Criminal Acquittal Does Not Invalidate Disciplinary Proceedings Conducted Under Different Evidentiary Standards: Kerala HC

Kerala High Court: A single judge bench consisting Justice Harisankar V. Menon quashed an arbitration award reinstating a terminated bank employee, holding that acquittal in criminal proceedings does not automatically invalidate findings of a domestic enquiry conducted under different standards of proof. The court emphasized that disciplinary proceedings operate independently of criminal...

Higher Qualification Cannot Substitute Mandatory Basic Qualification: Madhya Pradesh High Court

Madhya Pradesh High Court: Justice Anil Verma dismissed a writ petition challenging the rejection of a teaching position application, holding that a Master's degree in English cannot substitute for the mandatory requirement of a Bachelor's degree in English under the Madhya Pradesh School Education Services (Teaching Cadre) Recruitment Rules, 2018. The Court upheld that candidates must...

Inordinate Unexplained Delay In Service Claims Attracts Principle Of Laches And Bars Relief: MP HC

Madhya Pradesh High Court: A single judge bench consisting Justice Vishal Mishra dismissed a petition seeking time-bound promotion benefits under the 1999 scheme, holding that inordinate delay without explanation bars relief under principles of laches. The court found that the 14-year delay between retirement and petition filing, with no substantial efforts to claim benefits during service...

Employer Must Substantiate Misconduct Charges With Documentary Evidence, Mere Allegations Without Proof Insufficient: Madras HC

Madras High Court: A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and C. Kumarappan upheld a Labour Court order reinstating an employee terminated on charges of theft and misconduct, holding that disciplinary action must be supported by substantial evidence rather than mere allegations. The Court emphasized that the employer's failure to produce essential records like stock registers to prove...

MP HC Clarifies Burden Of Proof In Employment Cases: Employer Must Disprove Worker's Continuous Service Claim

Madhya Pradesh High Court: A Single bench consisting Justice Sanjay Dwivedi overturned a Labour Court order and ruled that once a workman claims continuous employment, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to disprove the claim with documentary evidence. The Court held that oral termination without notice and retrenchment compensation violates Section 25(f) of the Industrial Disputes...

Office Memorandum Is a Statutory Instruction, Cannot Supersede Statutory Rules: Delhi High Court Reiterates

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justices C. Hari Shankar and Sudhir Kumar Jain upheld the decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal reaffirming that Office Memorandum could not supersede the Statutory Rules. It observed that the Office Memorandum being a statutory instruction can supplement the Statutory Rules, however, it cannot override or supersede the...

Recognition Of Service Must Be Based On Objective Criteria, Not Extraneous Factors Like Gender: Patna HC

Patna High Court: Justice Anil Kumar Sinha ruled against the gender-based prioritization of a female Peon's service over a male employee who held a sanctioned post at a girls' school. The court found that without statutory backing, employment recognition must be based on objective criteria rather than extraneous factors like gender. Setting aside orders recognizing respondent's service, who...

Recovery Of Excess Payment From Retired Employee Impermissible Without Proof Of Misrepresentation: MP HC

Madhya Pradesh High Court: Justice Subodh Abhyankar quashed a recovery order issued against a retired Auxiliary Nurse Midwife, holding that excess payment cannot be recovered from retired government employees in the absence of misrepresentation or fraud. Following Supreme Court precedents, the court ordered refund of the recovered amount with 6% interest, emphasizing that recoveries...