Signing you in

Justice Rajesh Mazumdar was hearing the plea filed by one seeking directions to the authorities to treat the period of absence from May 7, 2019, to January 1, 2024, as a period spent on duty with all consequential benefits, including seniority, back wages, increments of pay, etc.

“In the opinion of this court, the reinstatement of the petitioner was not a result of any fault in the procedure adopted by the respondent authorities to keep the petitioner out of service. The petitioner had not been kept out of service illegally; rather, his reinstatement was based on sympathy and leniency,” the May 22 order read.

The court held that the appellate authority’s order dated January 31, 2024, directing that the period from the date of dismissal to the date of reporting for duty be regularised on the principle of “no work, no pay”, did not warrant interference.

The high court noted that the appellate authority had specifically directed that the petitioner would not receive a salary for the period between his dismissal and reinstatement under the “no work, no pay” principle.

However, the court clarified that since the appellate authority had not imposed any restriction on other service benefits for that period, the petitioner would continue to receive the benefit of continuity of service.

It was further submitted that since the petitioner had submitted his application to various authorities, where some of the authorities were superior to the disciplinary authority, stating that he was desirous of joining his duties, the same were required to have been decided promptly and judiciously, which was not done in the present case.

Government counsel U K Goswami argued that it is admitted by the petitioner in his representation addressed to the respondent authorities that although he had received the notices recalling him to duty before his dismissal, he had failed to file any reply to any of the notices.

It was further contended that there is no mistake on the part of the authority concerned in treating the period of his absence from the date of dismissal to the date of reinstatement based on the principle of ‘no work-no pay”.