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  1. Home/
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  3. High Court Of Delhi/
  4. 2024/
  5. January

Uttam Chand Bhatia vs. Govt. of Nct of Delhi and Anr.

Decided on 31 January 2024• Citation: W.P.(C)/9340/2019• High Court of Delhi
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               *    IN THE  HIGH  COURT   OF  DELHI  AT  NEW  DELHI                 
                                                           st                       
               %                             Date of order : 31 January, 2024.      
               +    W.P.(C) 9340/2019                                               
                    UTTAM  CHAND   BHATIA                     ..... Petitioner      
                                   Through:  Mr.Sudhir Sharma, Advocate             
                                   versus                                           
                    GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI  AND ANR.           ..... Respondent      
                                   Through:  Mr.Kamal Kant Tyagi, Advocate for      
                                             R-2                                    
               CORAM:                                                               
               HON'BLE  MR. JUSTICE  CHANDRA   DHARI  SINGH                         
                                         ORDER                                      
               CHANDRA   DHARI  SINGH, J (Oral)                                     
               1.   The petitioner vide the present petition under Article 226/227 of the
               Constitution of India has been filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking the
               following reliefs:                                                   
                     (i) Direct the Respondent to reinstate Petitioner with complete
                    “                                                               
                    back wages and all the consequential benefits may also be       
                    granted to the petitioner by modifying the award dated          
                    05.01.2019 OR in the alternative                                
                    (ii) direct the respondent to pay an amount of Rs. 30,00,000/-  
                    as compensation for mental harassment and loss of livelihood    
                    and loss of reputation, career prospects and as a penalty       
                    towards malicious prosecution, wrongfully tampering/            
                    influencing the domestic enquiry and trial before the Ld.       
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 1 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                    Labour Court, mental agony, etc.                                
                    (iii) Direct the Respondent No. 2 to pay cost of litigation of  
                    rupees three lac.                                               
                    (iv) Any other or further relief as this Hon'ble Court may deem 
                    fit and proper, in the interest of justice, may also be granted in
                    favour of the petitioner and against the respondents..          
                                                             ”                      
               2.   The petitioner was appointed at the post of General Worker with the
               respondent no. 2 (hereinafter respondent hotel ) vide appointment letter
                                       “             ”                              
                      th                                                            
               dated 27 June, 1989.                                                 
               3.   A complaint of theft was filed against the petitioner by a customer of
               the respondent no. 2 stating that the petitioner workman stole her mobile
               phone which she had left on a table in one of the hotel rooms.       
                                                                          th        
               4.   The management of respondent hotel issued chargesheet dated 4   
               January, 2007 against the misconduct of the petitioner. Pursuant to the same,
                                                th                                  
               the petitioner submitted its reply on 20 January, 2007 to the aforesaid
               chargesheet.                                                         
                                                              st                    
               5.   Thereafter, the respondent no. 2 vide letter dated 31 January, 2007
               appointed Ms. Jyotica Bhasin as the Enquiry Officer to conduct the enquiry
               into the complaint made against the petitioner. After conclusion of the
               enquiry, the enquiry report was submitted and petitioner‟s employment with
               the respondent no. 2 was terminated vide termination letter dated 6th
               February, 2008.                                                      
                                            th                                      
               6.   Thereafter, the petitioner on 14 February, 2008, sent a demand notice
               to the respondent no. 2 seeking his reinstatement and payment for the time
               when he was terminated. The respondent hotel did not reply to aforesaid
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 2 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               demand notice of the petitioner.                                     
               7.   Subsequently, the petitioner filed its claim under Section 2A and
               Section 10 (1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter "the Act")
               before the learned Labour Court. The respondent hotel filed its reply to the
               claims of the petitioner.                                            
               8.   Accordingly, the issues were framed and the witnesses were examined
               by the learned Labour Court. The learned Labour Court then passed the
                                  th                                                
               impugned award dated 5 January, 2019 wherein the learned Labour Court
               directed the respondent hotel to pay Rs. 6,50,000/- to the petitioner as
               compensation.                                                        
               9.   Aggrieved by the impugned award, the petitioner has preferred instant
               petition.                                                            
               10.  Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that
               the impugned award has been passed by the learned Labour Court in    
               violation of the principles of natural justice and without appreciating the
               evidence placed on its record by the petitioner.                     
               11.  It is submitted that the petitioner is entitled to reinstatement along-
               with the consequential benefits instead of a lumpsum compensation as 
               awarded by the learned Labour Court.                                 
               12.  It is further submitted that the amount which the learned Labour Court
               has awarded as compensation to the petitioner is meagre in comparison to
               the harassment as well as inconvenience which the petitioner workman had
               to suffer. Hence, the petitioner is entitled for enhancement of the lumpsum
               compensation awarded to the petitioner.                              
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 3 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               13.  It is submitted that the enquiry initiated against the petitioner by the
               respondent no. 2 was not conducted in a fair manner, since the enquiry
               officer refused to summon the duty registers as well as the other competent
               witnesses on the request of petitioner therefore, the petitioner was unable to
               present his defence before the enquiry officer.                      
               14.  It is submitted that the respondent management has failed to prove
               that the petitioner had entered into the room in the absence of the guest. The
               same is also evident from the fact that the MW-4, Smt. Shalini Upreti
               conceded in her evidence that Sh. Jaya Raghu, Shantanu as well as Sh. Rohit
               entered the said room in the absence of the guest.                   
               15.  It is submitted that the respondent has failed to prove even on the
               basis of preponderance of probability that the petitioner stole the hotel
                         e phone.                                                   
               guest‟s mobil                                                        
               16.  It is submitted that the respondent maliciously issued chargesheet to
               the respondent to terminate the petitioner since, the petitioner had demanded
               a raise in his wage.                                                 
               17.  In view of the foregoing submissions, the learned counsel for the
               petitioner prayed that the petition may be allowed and the reliefs as claimed
               by the petitioner may be granted by this Court.                      
               18.  Per Contra, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of respondents,
               vehemently opposed the aforesaid submissions, submitting to the effect that
               the impugned order has been passed in accordance with the settled position
               of law and merits no interference.                                   
               19.  It is submitted that the learned Labour Court has correctly held that a
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 4 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               considerable delay has lapsed since the petitioner was terminated and
               accordingly, the learned Court has rightly exercised its discretion in
               awarding the lump sum compensation.                                  
               20.  It is further submitted that the learned Labour Court did not award
               reinstatement to the petitioner since the respondent management had lost
               confidence in the petitioner workman as it was found that the petitioner
               workman stole                                    . Reliance in       
                           the mobile phone of a respondent hotel‟s guest           
               this regard has been placed up                                       
                                        on the judgment of the Hon‟ble Supreme      
               Court in Kanhaiyalal Agrawal and Ors. v. Factory Manager, Gwaliar    
               Sugar Co. Ltd. (2001) 9 SCC 609 in this regard.                      
               21.  It is contended that the learned labour Court has the discretion vested
               under the law to award the lumpsum compensation in lieu of reinstatement
               along with the consequential benefits to the petitioner. The learned counsel
               for the respondent has placed reliance on the following judgments in this
               regard Sain Steel Products v. Nepal Singh and Others (2003) 4 SCC 628,
               Pramod Kumar  and Another v. Presiding Officer and Another, (2005)   
               SCC OnLine  Del 951, Delhi Transport Corporation v. Presiding Officer
               and Anr., (2001) SCC OnLine Del 1242 and Rattan Singh v. Union of    
               India, (1997) 11 SCC 396.                                            
               22.  In view of the foregoing submissions, learned counsel for the   
               respondents prayed that the present petition is devoid of any merits and may
               be dismissed by this Court.                                          
               23.  Heard the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the parties and
               perused the material on record.                                      
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 5 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               24.  It is the case of the petitioner that it was wrongly alleged that he had
               stolen the mobile phone of one of the guest of the respondent hotel. 
               Moreover, the enquiry conducted by the enquiry officer in this regards was
               tainted with mala fide intentions of the respondent hotel in order to terminate
                                                                a raise in his      
               the petitioner‟s employment since the petitioner demanded            
               wage.                                                                
               25.  In rival submissions, the respondent submitted that the impugned
               award has been passed in accordance with the settled principle of law and
               the learned Court has correctly held that a considerable amount of time has
               been elapsed since the termination of the petitioner and therefore, the
               petitioner was awarded lumpsum compensation in lieu of reinstatement 
               along with the consequential benefits.                               
               26.  In order to adjudicate the instant petition, it is imperative to note the
               powers of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of Indi. Under the
               said provision, this Court has a very limited power to intervene into the
               working of the executive. The High Court under its writ jurisdiction shall not
               intervene with the working of the executive unless there is a prejudice
               caused to any party by the executive authority or the executive authority is
               not acting as per the mandate of a particular statute.               
               27.  The position as to what must be observed by the High Court while
               exercising an issuance of writ in the form of certiorari can be fairly summed
               up via two cardinal principles of law, firstly, the High Court does not
               exercise powers of an appellate authority and it does not review or peruse
               the evidence upon which the consideration of the inferior Court purports to
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 6 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               have been based. The writ of certiorari can be issued if an error of law is
               apparent on the face of the record. Secondly, in such cases, the Court has to
               take into account the circumstances and pass an order in equity and not as an
               appellate authority. Simply put, certiorari is issued for correcting errors of
               jurisdiction exercised by inferior Courts, for Courts violating principles of
               natural justice and acting illegally and, the Court issuing such a writ shall act
               in supervision and not as appellate authority.                       
               28.  Further, it is also imperative for this Court to briefly revisit the
                                                                 The term           
               settled law regarding issuance of the „writ of mandamus‟.            
               m                                                                    
                andamus means „a command‟. A writ of mandamus is issued in favor of 
               a person who establishes a legal right in himself. It is issued against a
               person who has a legal duty to perform but has failed and/or neglected to
               do so. Such a legal duty emanates from discharge of a public duty or by
               operation of law.                                                    
               29.  Now adverting to the issue at hand.                             
               30.  Before delving in to the technical aspects of the instant matter, this
               Court finds it pertinent to analyze the impugned award. The relevant portion
               of the impugned award has been reproduced herein below:              
                     In the light of above, the management has been failed to       
                    “                                                               
                    establish the mis-conduct on the part of workman resultantly,   
                    the act of management of terminating the services of the        
                    workman is found to be illegal and unjustified. The issue/point 
                    is liable to be decided in favour of workman and against the    
                    management. Same stands decided accordingly.                    
                    Relief                                                          
                    In his statement of claim the workman has prayed that an        
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 7 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                    award may be passed in favour of workman thereby seeking        
                    direction to reinstate the workman with full back wages and     
                    continuity of his service with all consequential benefits but in
                    the considered opinion of the court this is not a fit case for the
                    reinstatement, particularly in the facts and circumstances of the
                    case, and also as a considerable period of time has been        
                    elapsed and the end of justice will be served if a lump sum     
                    compensation is awarded to the  workman  instead of             
                    reinstatement, backwages, and other consequential benefits.     
                    Accordingly, in view of the above discussion and terms of       
                    reference, and keeping in view the tenure of service of the     
                    workman with the management and the material available on       
                    record, a lumpsum compensation of Rs.6.50.000/- (Rupees Six     
                    Lakh Fifty Thousand Only), is awarded to the workman instead    
                    of reinstatement and backwages and other consequential          
                    benefits. The management is directed to pay the said            
                    compensation amount of Rs.6,50,000/- (Rupees Six Lakh Fifty     
                    Thousand Only) is awarded to the workman instead of             
                    reinstatement and backwages and other consequential benefits.   
                    The management is directed to pay the said compensation         
                    amount of Rs.6,50,000/- (Rupees Six Lakh Fifty Thousand Only)   
                    to the workman within three months from the date of             
                    publication of award. If the management failed to pay the said  
                    amount of Rs.6.50.000/- (Rupees Six Lakh Fifty Thousand Only)   
                    to the workman within the stipulated period, the workman is at  
                    liberty to get recover the said compensation amount of          
                    Rs.6.50,000/- (Rupees Six Lakh Fifty Thousand Only) from the    
                    management along with an interest @8% p.a. from the date of     
                    passing of award till the date of recovery of the amount of     
                    compensation. The award is passed accordingly. Requisite        
                    copies of award be sent to the competent authority for          
                    publication as per                                              
                                  provisions of Industrial Disputes Act.”           
               31.  Upon perusal of the impugned award, it is evident that the learned
               Labour Court passed the award holding that the management of the     
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 8 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               respondent hotel has failed to establish that there was any misconduct, i.e.,
               alleged theft of mobile phone committed by the petitioner. Hence, the issue
               was decided in favour of the petitioner.                             
               32.  The learned Labour Court further observed that the instant case is not
               fit for grant of reinstatement along with the all consequential benefits since,
               a considerable amount of time has elapsed. Therefore, in order to serve the
               ends of justice a lumpsum compensation of Rs. 6,50,000/- along-with an
               interest of 8% per annum from the date of award till the date of recovery of
               the amount of the compensation is awarded in favour of the workman.  
               33.  The position of law with regard to whether the Courts can award 
               lumpsum compensation instead of reinstatement along-with consequential
               benefits to the workmen while adjudicating upon an Industrial Dispute is
               settled.                                                             
               34.  It is a settled law that if the Labour Court is of the opinion that the
               award of certain compensation would meet the ends of justice in a particular
               case, then keeping in mind the relevant facts and circumstances of that case,
               the Labour Court has the power to award compensation even though there
               may be a claim for back wages or reinstatement made by the workman.  
               35.  This power is derived from Section 11-A of Industrial Disputes Act,
               which deals with power of Labour Courts, Tribunals and National Tribunals
               to give appropriate relief in case of discharge or dismissal of workmen.
               Section 11-A of the Act has been reproduced herein below for reference:
                    "..11A. Powers of Labour Courts, Tribunals and National         
                    Tribunals to give appropriate relief in case of discharge or    
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 9 of 16              
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                    dismissal of workmen. Where an industrial dispute relating to   
                                     —                                              
                    the discharge or dismissal of a workman has been referred to a  
                    Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal for adjudication    
                    and, in the course of the adjudication proceedings, the Labour  
                    Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal, as the case may be, is    
                    satisfied that the order of discharge or dismissal was not      
                    justified, it may, by its award, set aside the order of discharge
                    or dismissal and direct reinstatement of the workman on such    
                    terms and conditions, if any, as it thinks fit, or give such other
                    relief to the workman including the award of any lesser         
                    punishment in lieu of discharge or dismissal as the             
                    circumstances of the case may require: Provided that in any     
                    proceeding under this section the Labour Court, Tribunal or     
                    National Tribunal, as the case may be, shall rely only on the   
                    materials on record and shall not take any fresh evidence in    
                    relation to the matter…”                                        
               36.  The aforesaid position of law has also been reiterated in the judgment
               of U.P. State Brasware Corporation Ltd. Vs. Uday Narain Pandey, 2006 
               1(SCC) 479, relevant portions of which have been reproduced as follows:
                     30. In Panitole Tea Estate v. Workmen [(1971) 1 SCC 742 :      
                    “                                                               
                    (1971) 3 SCR 774] a two-Judge Bench of this Court while         
                    considering the question as regards grant of relief or          
                    reinstatement, observed: (SCC p. 747, para 5)                   
                                   le of reinstatement in the absence of special    
                      “The general ru                                               
                    circumstances was also recognised in the case of Workmen of     
                    Assam  Match   Co.  Ltd. v. Presiding Officer, Labour           
                    Court [(1973) 2 LLJ 279 (SC)] and has again been affirmed       
                    recently in Tulsidas Paul v. Second Labour Court, W.B. [(1972)  
                    4 SCC 205 (2)] In Tulsidas Paul [(1972) 4 SCC 205 (2)] it has   
                    been emphasised that no hard-and-fast rule as to which          
                    circumstances would establish an exception to the general rule  
                    could be laid down and the Tribunal must in each case decide    
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 10 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                    the question in a spirit of fairness and justice in keeping with
                    the objectives of industrial adjudication.”                     
                      31. In Surendra Kumar Verma v. Central Govt. Industrial       
                    Tribunal-cum-Labour Court [(1980) 4 SCC 443 : 1981 SCC          
                    (L&S) 16 : (1981) 1 SCR 789] this Court refused to go into the  
                    question as to whether termination of services of a workman in  
                    violation of the provisions of Section 25-F is void ab initio or
                    merely invalid or inoperative on the premise that semantic      
                    luxuries are misplaced in the interp                            
                                                  retation of “bread and            
                    butter” statutes. In that context, Chinnappa Reddy, J. observed:
                    (SCC p. 447, para 6)                                            
                      “Plain common sense dictates that the removal of an order     
                    terminating the services of workmen must ordinarily lead to the 
                    reinstatement of the services of the workmen. It is as if the   
                    order has never been, and so it must ordinarily lead to back    
                    wages too. But there may be exceptional circumstances which     
                    make it impossible or wholly inequitable vis-à-vis the employer 
                    and workmen to direct reinstatement with full back wages. For   
                    instance, the industry might have closed down or might be in    
                    severe financial doldrums; the workmen concerned might have     
                    secured better or other employment elsewhere and so on. In      
                    such situations, there is a vestige of discretion left in the court
                    to make appropriate consequential orders. The court may deny    
                    the relief of reinstatement where reinstatement is impossible   
                    because the industry has closed down. The court may deny the    
                    relief of award of full back wages where that would place an    
                    impossible burden on the employer. In such and other            
                    exceptional cases the court may mould the relief, but, ordinarily
                    the relief to be awarded must be reinstatement with full back   
                    wages. That relief must be awarded where no special             
                    impediment in the way of awarding the relief is clearly shown.  
                    True, occasional hardship may be caused to an employer but      
                    we must remember that, more often than not, comparatively far   
                    greater hardship is certain to be caused to the workmen if the  
                    relief is denied than t                                         
                                    o the employer if the relief is granted.”       
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 11 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                      32. Yet again, no law in absolute terms had been laid down    
                    therein. The Court proceeded on the basis that there may be     
                    situations where grant of full back wages would be inequitable. 
                    In the fact situation obtaining therein, the Court, however was 
                    of the opinion that there was no impediment in the way of       
                    awarding the relief. It is interesting to note that Pathak, J., as
                    His Lordship then was, however was of the view: (SCC p. 450,    
                    para 13)                                                        
                                                  as been retrenched in             
                      “Ordinarily, a workman who h                                  
                    contravention of the law is entitled to reinstatement with full 
                    back wages and that principle yields only where the justice of  
                    the case in the light of the particular facts indicates the     
                    desirability of a different relief.”                            
                    The expres                                                      
                             sion “ordinarily” must be understood given its due     
                    meaning. A useful reference in this behalf may be made to a     
                    four-Judge Bench decision of this Court in Jasbhai Motibhai     
                    Desai v. Roshan Kumar [(1976) 1 SCC 671] wherein it has         
                    been held: (SCC p. 682, para 35)                                
                       35                                                           
                      “  . The expression „ordinarily‟ indicates that this is not a 
                    cast-iron rule. It is flexible enough to take in those cases where
                    the applicant has been prejudicially affected by an act or      
                    omission of an authority, even though he has no proprietary or  
                    even a fiduciary interest in the subject-matter. That apart, in 
                    exceptional cases even a stranger or a person who was not a     
                    party to the proceedings before the authority, but has a        
                    substantial and genuine interest in the subject-matter of the   
                    proceedings will be covered by this rule. The principles        
                    enunciated in the English cases noticed above, are not          
                    inconsistent with it.”                                          
                      33. In J.N. Srivastava v. Union of India [(1998) 9 SCC 559 :  
                    1998 SCC (L&S) 1251] again no law has been laid down in the     
                    fact situation obtaining therein. The Court held that the       
                    workmen had all along been ready and willing to work, the plea  
                    of “no work no pay” as prayed for should not be applied.        
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 12 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                      34. We may  notice that in M.D., U.P. Warehousing             
                    Corpn. v. Vijay Narayan Vajpayee [(1980) 3 SCC 459]             
                    and Jitendra Singh Rathor v. Shri Baidyanath Ayurved Bhawan     
                    Ltd. [(1984) 3 SCC 5 : 1984 SCC (L&S) 333] although an          
                    observation had been made to the effect that in a case where a  
                    breach of the provisions of Section 25-F has taken place, the   
                    workmen cannot be denied back wages to any extent, no law,      
                    which may be considered to be a binding precedent, has been     
                    laid down therein.                                              
                      35. In PGI of Medical Education &  Research v. Raj            
                    Kumar [(2001) 2 SCC 54 : 2001 SCC (L&S) 365] Banerjee, J.,      
                    on the other hand, was of the opinion: (SCC p. 58, paras 11-12) 
                       11. The learned counsel appearing for the respondents,       
                      “                                                             
                    however, placed strong reliance on a later decision of this     
                    Court  in PGI of  M.E. &   Research v. Vinod Krishan            
                    Sharma [(2001) 2 SCC 59] wherein this Court directed            
                    payment of balance of 60% of the back wages to the respondent   
                    within a specified period of time. It may well be noted that the
                    decision in Soma case [PGI of M.E. & Research v. Soma, CA       
                    No. 12558 of 1996] has been noticed by this Court in Vinod      
                    Sharma case [(2001) 2 SCC 59] wherein this Court apropos the    
                    decision in Soma case [PGI of M.E. & Research v. Soma, CA       
                    No. 12558 of 1996] observed:                                    
                      „A mere look at the said judgment shows that it was           
                    rendered in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case. It
                    is, therefore, obvious that the said decision which centred     
                    round its own facts cannot be a precedent in the present case   
                    which is based on its own facts.‟                               
                    We also record our concurrence with the observations made       
                    therein.                                                        
                      12. Payment of back wages having a discretionary element      
                    involved in it has to be dealt with, in the facts and           
                    circumstances of each case and no straitjacket formula can be   
                    evolved, though, however, there is statutory sanction to direct 
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 13 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

                    payment of back wages in its entirety. As regards the decision  
                    of this Court in Hindustan Tin Works (P) Ltd. [(1979) 2 SCC 80  
                    : 1979 SCC (L&S) 53 : (1979) 1 SCR 563] be it noted that        
                    though broad guidelines, as regards payment of back wages,      
                    have been laid down by this Court but having regard to the      
                    peculiar facts of the matter, this Court directed payment of 75%
                    back wages only.”                                               
                      45. The Court, therefore, emphasised that while granting      
                    relief, application of mind on the part of the Industrial Court is
                    imperative. Payment of full back wages, therefore, cannot be    
                    the natural consequence.                                        
                      51. The said decisions were, however, distinguished           
                    in Mohan Lal v. Bharat Electronics Ltd. [(1981) 3 SCC 225 :     
                    1981 SCC (L&S) 478] Desai, J. was of the opinion: (SCC p.       
                    238, para 17)                                                   
                       17                           isions which rule that          
                      “  . … But there is a catena of dec                           
                    where the termination is illegal, especially where there is an  
                    ineffective order of retrenchment, there is neither termination 
                    nor cessation of service and a declaration follows that the     
                    workman concerned continues to be in service with all           
                    consequential benefits. No case is made out for departure from  
                    this normally accepted approach of the courts in the field of   
                    social justice and we do not propose to depart in this case.”   
                      56. A Division Bench of this Court in M.L. Binjolkar v. State 
                    of M.P. [(2005) 6 SCC 224 : 2005 SCC (L&S) 827 : JT (2005)      
                    6 SC 461] referring to a large number of decisions, held: (SCC  
                    p. 228, para 6)                                                 
                     6[7                                                            
                    “   ]. … The  earlier view was that whenever there is           
                    interference with the order of termination or retirement, full  
                    back wages were the natural corollary. It has been laid down in 
                    the cases noted above that it would depend upon several factors 
                    and the Court has to weigh the pros and cons of each case and   
                    to take a pragmatic view.                                       
                                       ”                                            
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 14 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               37.  On the basis of the above, the compensation in certain cases is the
               solution for unjustified and premature termination of employment. The relief
               of compensation is more appropriate remedy in certain cases concerning the
               question of unlawful termination of service of an employee. Hence, even if
               the finding of the learned Labour Court is that termination is illegal, the
               learned Labour Court has the power to decline reinstatement if it is of the
               view that compensation will suffice.                                 
               38.  This Court is of the view that since the petitioner was terminated in
               the year 2008 and the impugned award has been passed in the year 2019, the
               learned Labour Court has rightly adjudicated that the petitioner is not
               entitled to be reinstated alongwith consequential benefits, considering the
               elapse of time. Moreover, this Court also deems it apposite to grant the
               petitioner lumpsum compensation instead of reinstatement.            
               39.  In view of the aforesaid discussions, this Court is of the view that the
               learned Labour Court has rightly exercised its jurisdiction by awarding
               lumpsum compensation in lieu of the reinstatement alongwith consequential
               benefits.                                                            
               40.  The writ of certiorari cannot be issued in the present matter since for
               the issuance of such a writ, there should be an error apparent on the face of it
               or goes to the root of the matter. However, no such circumstances are
               present in the instant petition.                                     
               41.  The instant petition is an appeal in the garb of a writ petition. The
               petitioner is seeking a review of the impugned award despite the fact that
               there are no such special circumstances that require the interference of this
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 15 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49                                                                        

               Court and the learned Labour Award has passed the impugned award in  
               accordance with law.The petitioner is not aggrieved by any such violation of
               his rights , which merits interference of this Court.                
               42.  In view of the discussion in the foregoing paragraphs, this Court does
               not find any merits in the instant petition and is liable to be dismissed.
               43.  Accordingly, the instant petition stands dismissed alongwith pending
               applications, if any.                                                
               44.  The order be uploaded on the website forthwith.                 
                                                 CHANDRA   DHARI  SINGH,  J         
               JANUARY   31, 2024                                                   
               SV/db/ryp                                                            
    Signature Not Verified                                                          
               WP(C) 9340/2019                                                      
    Digitally Signed                                      Page 16 of 16             
    By:DAMINI YADAV                                                                 
    Signing Date:15.02.2024                                                         
    18:24:49