Once Termination Order Is Set Aside, Employee Is Deemed To Be In Service: Supreme Court

The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Prasanna B Varale observed, “Once the termination order is set aside and judgment of the High Court dismissing the writ petition challenging the said termination order has also been set aside, the natural consequence is that the employee should be taken back in service and thereafter proceeded with as per the directions. Once the termination order is set aside then the employee is deemed to be in service….The appellant would thus be entitled to full salary for the above period to be calculated with all benefits admissible treating the appellant to be in continuous service.”

Senior Advocate P.S. Patwalia appeared for the Appellant, Senior Advocate Nidhesh Gupta appeared for the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and Additional Advocate General Gaurav Dhama appeared for the State of Punjab.

Brief Facts-

The Appellant, a judicial officer in the Punjab Civil Services, was terminated during his probation on the allegations of an illicit relationship with a lady judicial officer. Despite receiving satisfactory performance reports, the Full Court of the Punjab and Haryana High Court recommended his termination and the State of Punjab subsequently dismissed both of them.

The Appellant challenged his termination, but the High Court dismissed his petition while reinstating the lady judicial officer the next day. He then filed an SLP before the Supreme Court, which set aside his termination and directed the Full Court to reconsider the case. However, the Full Court reaffirmed its decision to terminate his services. Hence, the Appellant filed the present Miscellaneous Application seeking reinstatement. During the proceedings, the State of Punjab issued an order terminating the Appellant's services retrospectively.

The Apex Court found no justification in the inaction of the High Court and also the State is not taking back the Appellant into service.

The Court noted that no decision was taken either by the High Court or by the State of taking back the Appellant into service and no decision was made regarding the back wages from the date the termination order had been passed till the date of reinstatement.

Moreover, the Court said that the ends of justice would be served by directing that the appellant would be entitled to 50 percent of the back wages, during the time he was dismissed from service till the order setting aside the termination, treating him to be in service continuously.

Accordingly, the Court disposed of the M.A.

Cause Title: Anantdeep Singh v. The High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 673)