Once Reference Is Accepted, Should Be Decided On Merits: Rajasthan High Court Quashes Labour Court Order Rejecting Reference As Defective

The Rajasthan High Court set aside an order of the Labour Court which had dismissed a reference as defective after spending 20 years on its adjudication, opining that once a reference was accepted the Labour Court was duty bound to answer it on its merits.Justice Munnuri Laxman was hearing a plea wherein the petitioners had alleged that they were orally terminated from employment by...

Trade Union Cannot Invoke Recovery U/S 50 MRTU & PULP Act Without Written Authorisation From Employees: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a trade union cannot independently invoke Section 50 of the MRTU & PULP (Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices, 1971) Act for the recovery of money without written authorisation from employees. The Court observed that the statutory scheme restricts the right of recovery to the employee or a person...

Brother Not Covered For Purpose Of Family Pension, When Eligible Claimant Mother Never Availed It: Calcutta HC

A Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee and Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty held that the brother of a deceased government teacher does not qualify as “family” under Clause 5(s)(2) of the Pension Scheme, 1981, and he cannot claim family pension arrears, especially when the original beneficiary (mother) never claimed the benefit during...

'Competition Must Be Among Equals': Rajasthan High Court Says Home Guard Selection Can't Pit Experienced Volunteers Against Fresh Candidates

The Rajasthan High Court has granted relief to a bunch of Home Guards who were allegedly terminated orally, by opining that in relation to new recruitment, if the petitioners were already having some experience as volunteers in Home Guards Department, they were required to be screen initially and if found eligible, to be taken into services. The bench of Justice Munnuri Laxman held that...

Unauthorised Absence Must Be Wilful To Justify Dismissal; Disproportionate If Due To Illness: Jharkhand HC

A Division Bench of the Jharkhand High Court comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Deepak Roshan held that unauthorised absence from duty must be proven to be willful to warrant dismissal, and punishment is disproportionate if the absence is due to compelling circumstances like medical illness. Background Facts The respondent (employee) was appointed as an...

'Shockingly Disproportionate': Allahabad HC Quashes ₹2.14 Cr Recovery From Employee; Says No Finding Of Financial Loss Or Personal Gain

Recently, the Allahabad High Court observed that punishment of recovery of Rs. 214.87 lacs from a delinquent employee was “shockingly disproportionate” when there were no findings regarding any financial loss suffered by the department or any monetary gain by the employee due to his misconduct. Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery held “There was no charge that department has suffered...

'Denying Inter-Utility Transfers To Lower-Ranking Officials Without Nexus To Relevant Policy Violates Article 14': P&H High Court

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has held that denial of inter-utility transfers only to lower-ranking officials without any rational nexus to the object of the policy is violative of Article 14. The Court observed that such classification between employees is arbitrary where it does not serve the stated objective of the policy.Justice Harpreet Singh Brar was hearing a batch of writ...

Bombay High Court Dismisses Election Petition Challenging MLA's Election Over Alleged EVM-VVPAT Discrepancies

The Bombay High Court has held that an election petition alleging discrepancies between EVM data and VVPAT slips is liable to be dismissed where it does not disclose material facts constituting a complete cause of action. The Court observed that mere assertions of discrepancies without pleading how such discrepancies materially affected the election result are insufficient under the...

Swords, Stars And Equality: Supreme Court's Definitive Verdict On Women Officers And Long Arc Of Constitutional Justice

“It is not enough to proudly state that women officers are allowed to serve the nation in the Armed Forces when the true picture of their service conditions tells a different story.” These words, articulated by the Supreme Court in Lt. Col. Nitisha v. Union of India (2021), have long served as a mirror to the institutional soul of the Indian military. On March 24, 2026, that mirror finally reflected a finished portrait of justice. In a landmark decision that closes a twenty-three-year...

Granting Pensioners Lower Dearness Relief Than Employees' DA Is Arbitrary, Violates Article 14: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday (April 10) observed that granting higher dearness allowance (DA) to serving employees than dearness relief (DR) to pensioners is arbitrary and violates Article 14, ruling that both benefits share a common objective, i.e., neutralising the impact of inflation. A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Prasanna B Varale dismissed appeals filed by the State of Kerala and...

Merit-Cum-Seniority; Seniority Can't Be Applied Mechanically Not Evaluating Merit: Chhattisgarh HC

A Division Bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal held that under the principle of merit-cum-seniority, the DPC must first make a comparative assessment of merit, and seniority can be used only as a tiebreaker, not as the sole basis for promotion. Background Facts The appellant was appointed as a Jail...

Appointments Under Inapplicable Statute Vitiated; Natural Justice Violation No Ground To Interfere With Termination: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that appointments made under a statute which is inapplicable on the institution— are vitiated and orders of termination of such employees cannot be set aside merely on grounds of order being non-speaking.Observing that the appointments were not made under the statutory provisions applicable to the institution, Justice Manju Rani Chauhan held,“In...