LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA AND ORS.versusTHE CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL, JAIPUR AND ORS.
- Citation
- 1996 INSC 1319
- Decided
- 18 November 1996
- Disposal
- Appeal(s) allowed
- Bench
- S VERMAB N KIRPAL
Holding
An order of removal from service operates from the date it is made (12‑December‑1969), and wages are not payable from that date to the workman's death, though the interim payment to the heirs need not be returned.
Summary
The Supreme Court examined an order of removal of a workman by the employer, which had been challenged before the Central Industrial Tribunal. The workman died while the tribunal proceedings were pending, and the tribunal had directed payment of wages from the date of dismissal to the date of death. Relying on its earlier decision in R. Thiruvirkolam v. The Presiding Officer, the Court held that the removal order takes effect from the date it was issued (12‑December‑1969) and not from any later date, thereby setting aside the tribunal’s direction to pay wages up to the workman's death. However, the Court ruled that the interim sum of Rs. 50,000 already paid to the heirs need not be returned to the employer. Consequently, the appeal was allowed.
Issues considered
- From which date does an order of removal from service operate for the purpose of wage liability?
- Whether wages are payable to a deceased workman from the date of removal to the date of death?
- Whether an interim payment made to the heirs of a deceased workman must be refunded to the employer?
Subjects
Judgment
LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA AND ORS. A
v.
THE CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL, JAIPUR AND ORS.
NOVEMBER 18, 1996
[J.S. VERMA AND B.N. KlRPAL, JJ.] B
Labour Law :
Workman-Removal from service-Order challenged-Pending
proceedings before Industrial Tribunal, workman died- Tribunal found the C
charges to have been proved but directed payment of wages from date of
dismissal till date of death of workman-Held, in view ofjudgment of this
Court in the case ofR. Thiruvirkolam, the order of removal from service in
this case operates from 12.12.1969 when it was made by the employer and
not from any subsequent date.
D
R. Thiruvirkolam v, The Presiding Officer and Anr, (1997] l SCC
59, relied on.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 8418 of
1994.
E
From the Judgment and Order dated 27.4.94 of the Rajasthan High
Court in D.B.C.S. (Writ) No. 477 of 1992.
Harish N. Salve, Kai!ash Vasdev, K.K. Sharma, Ms. Meenakshi
Sakhardande and C.K. Sasi for the Appellants. F
M.N. Krishnamani and Sudarsh Menon for the Respondents.
The following Order of the Court was delivered :
G
The point involved in this case is the same as in Civil Appeal No. 54
of I 993, R. Thiruvirko/am v. The Presiding Officer and Anr. For the reasons
given by us in the judgment delivered today in R. Thiruvirkolam, it must
be held that the order of removal from service in the present case operates
from December 12, 1969 when it was made by the employer and not from
any subsequent date. The direction made in the impugned judgment for H
685
686 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 8 S.C.R.
A payment of wages to the deceased workman from December 12, 1969 to
December 7, 1987, the date of his death is, therefore, set aside. However,
the amount of Rs. 50,000 paid to the heirs of the deceased workman under
the interim order of the Court is not required to be refunded by them to
the employer.
B Consequently, the appeal is allowed in the above terms. No costs.
R.P. Appeal allowed.
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