Employer is not entitled to terminate an employee summarily on the ground of suppression of material facts : Bombay High Court
A Division Bench comprising Justice Rohit B. Deo and Justice Anil L. Pansare said that oppression by a person in a higher post, who may be sensitive in nature, is on a different level from oppression by an employee of class IV, who does not hold a sensitive post.
Employer is not entitled to terminate an employee summarily on the ground of suppression of material facts : Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court in the case of Buddeshwar S/o Babulal Lilhare vs. Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company & Ors [Writ Petition No. 4925 of 2019] on April 29, 2023, held that the decision to terminate the employment of an employee on the ground that he has suppressed the pendency of a single criminal prosecution cannot be accepted.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Rohit B. Deo and Justice Anil L. Pansare said that oppression by a person in a higher post, who may be sensitive in nature, is on a different level from oppression by an employee of class IV, who does not hold a sensitive post.
The court said that other factors, such as the nature of the allegation and the appointment for reasons of grace, may be considered in deciding whether to terminate the employee.
The petitioner was hired as a compassionate servant due to the death of his father. The background and criminal history check form submitted with the appointment order included a specific question regarding whether there were any criminal charges pending against the applicant.
In rendering the said judgment, the court relied on the principle from the Supreme Court’s judgment in Avtar Singh v. Union of India, that verification of character and antecedents is an important criterion for assessing suitability, that the final action should be based on objective criteria with due consideration of all relevant aspects, and that while an employee who has suppressed material information cannot claim an unfettered right to continuity in service, he or she has a right not to be treated arbitrarily.
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