The Madras High Court has held that when a disciplinary authority imposes a minor punishment on a government employee and the same is subsequently found to be illegal or without jurisdiction, the period that the employee spent under the operation of that punishment must be treated as service for all consequential purposes, including promotion and other service benefits. The Division Bench, while allowing a writ petition filed by a government servant, observed that in cases where minor punishments such as stoppage of increment are imposed without authority or jurisdiction, the service record of the employee must be corrected to exclude any adverse consequences resulting from such illegal action. The High Court emphasised that public employment law recognises the principle that an employee should not suffer detriment on account of an illegal or unauthorised punishment, and that the adverse impact of such punishment cannot be allowed to prejudice the employee’s prospects in future promotions or seniority.
The case arose from a challenge to disciplinary action taken against the petitioner, who served as a government employee and faced disciplinary proceedings that resulted in the imposition of a minor penalty. The petitioner contended that the authority that imposed the punishment lacked the jurisdiction to do so, and sought a declaration that the punishment was illegal and that the period during which the punishment was in force should be treated as service for the purpose of calculating eligibility for promotions and other service benefits. The respondent authorities did not dispute that the punishment was unauthorised, but submitted that the period of punishment could not be counted for promotion or other service-related entitlements since the punishment was in operation at the relevant time.
Upon examining the facts and legal submissions, the High Court observed that when a minor punishment imposed on an employee is subsequently held to be without jurisdiction or illegal, it is as if the punishment never existed in law. Consequently, the period of service that was disrupted or affected by such punishment must be treated as part of the employee’s continuous service for all incidental consequences. The Court noted that an employee should not be placed in a disadvantaged position in terms of seniority, promotion or other entitlements due to an illegality committed by the employer in imposing a punishment that has been invalidated.
The Bench referred to settled legal principles which recognise that once a punishment is quashed or set aside by a competent authority or court, the employee’s record must be restored to the position it would have been but for the illegal punishment. This includes counting the period of minor punishment for calculating eligibility for promotion, increments, or any other service benefits that depend on uninterrupted service. The High Court reiterated that public employment jurisprudence seeks to protect employees from suffering adverse consequences flowing from unauthorised action by the employer, and that such protection is necessary to ensure fairness and justice in service matters.
In its order, the High Court directed that the petitioner’s service records be suitably modified to reflect that the period during which the illegal punishment was in force shall be treated as continuous service for all consequential benefits, including promotion. The court held that failure to treat the period as service would defeat the very purpose of declaring the punishment illegal and would continue to penalise the employee for an order that has been invalidated. The Bench further made it clear that other similarly placed employees are entitled to the same treatment if their minor punishments were set aside for want of jurisdiction.
The judgment reaffirmed the principle that disciplinary actions that are found to be illegal must be treated as if they never existed, and that service consequences flowing from such actions must be remedied to ensure that employees are not prejudiced. By directing that the period of illegal punishment be counted for promotion and other service benefits, the Madras High Court underscored the importance of fair treatment of government servants in service law and highlighted the necessity of safeguarding their rights when disciplinary measures are imposed without proper jurisdiction.
0 Comments
Thank you for your response. It will help us to improve in the future.