The Madhya Pradesh High Court has strongly criticized certain officials of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) for attempting to render a labour court order ineffective through a departmental directive. The court has directed the corporation to take substantive punitive action against them.
Court Observations
A division bench comprising Justice G S Ahluwalia and Justice Deepak Khot was hearing the FCI's petition challenging a labour court order that mandated the regularisation of two employees, Arjun Patel and Abdul Khalid Danish, from Jabalpur. The bench noted that instead of challenging the order through appropriate legal forums immediately, FCI officials issued a departmental order to make the judgment ineffective.
Demand for Substantial Action
The vacation bench emphasized that punitive action should not be symbolic, such as issuing a show cause notice, but must be substantial. After the FCI counsel sought time, the court granted the corporation three weeks to fix accountability and take action against the concerned officials.
Legal Channels Must Be Followed
The judges stressed that if anyone in FCI objected to the labour court order, it should have been challenged through available legal channels rather than attempting to subvert the course of justice through a departmental order. Citing Supreme Court precedents, the court stated that the institution must fix responsibility on officials, as such an attitude leads to unnecessary litigation, wasting public funds and precious court time.
Next Hearing
The court will examine during the next hearing what action was taken against the officials and whether accountability was properly fixed.
