Rajkot: An industrial tribunal here held the 1994 termination of a daily-wage bank peon illegal and ordered Rs 2.5 lakh compensation, ending a legal dispute that moved across forums for over two decades, through its order delivered on Feb 13.
The dispute, which had passed through various tribunals, arose from the termination of the applicant’s services in 1994. He moved the tribunal in 2002.
According to the applicant, Haresh Vyas, he was first engaged as a watchman and later as a full-time peon with State Bank of Saurashtra, which subsequently merged with State Bank of India. Vyas said he worked 358 continuous days between April 1993 and August 1994 before his services were abruptly discontinued without notice pay or retrenchment compensation.
The bank contested the claim, arguing that Vyas was only intermittently engaged as a daily-wage worker and was not appointed through local recruitment processes. It alleged that he had voluntarily abandoned his job and that the dispute was raised after an unexplained delay. The bank also contended that he did not complete 250 days of continuous service and that no formal appointment letter was issued, as per its records. However, the tribunal rejected the bank’s defence after examining service certificates issued by the bank, which showed that Vyas had worked for over 240 days in the 12 months preceding his termination. This qualified him as a “workman” in continuous service.
“Furthermore, the court found that the bank failed to conduct an inquiry or issue notices to prove Vyas had voluntarily abandoned his post, rendering his dismissal an illegal retrenchment, as the bank failed to comply with the mandatory provisions of Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act,” said P R Desai, the advocate for Vyas.
Despite succeeding on the issue of wrongful termination, Vyas, now about 61 and past the age of superannuation, was not granted reinstatement with back wages. The tribunal noted that he was a temporary employee who had worked for a short period more than three decades ago, making reinstatement impractical.
Considering the extraordinary delay caused by conciliation proceedings, the litigants and repeated transfers of the case between central and state tribunals, the court opted for a monetary award. “Acknowledging inflation and the massive rise in the cost of commodities over the past four decades, the court deemed Rs 2.5 lakh as a just and proper compensation,” Desai added.
According to Desai, Vyas sold newspapers to support his family after losing his job.
