SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING Vs. AJAY SHANKAR SAXENA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This hearing has been done through video conferencing.

(2.) The present petition challenges the impugned award dtd. 7/4/2015 by which the Labour Court has awarded compensation to the Respondent-Workman (hereinafter 'Workman'), in ID No.461/04 (Old LID No. 84/87) in Ajay Shankar v. School of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education (Presently known as School of Open Learning, University of Delhi), in the following terms:

(3.) The Workman had joined the Petitioner-Management (hereinafter 'Management') as a clerk-cum-typist on 1/6/1966. He was thereafter appointed as an Assistant in 1971 against a temporary leave vacancy. The Management had then extended the Workman's probationary period and a decision was taken on 20/3/1975 to not confirm the Workman as Assistant and he was reverted to the original post of clerk-cum-typist w.e.f. 21/3/1975. This was challenged by way of a writ petition before the Delhi High Court, bearing Civil Writ Petition No. 1348/1976, which was dismissed and the services of the Workman were then placed on a temporary basis between October, 1977 and July, 1978 and against the substantive post of Assistant w.e.f. 1/8/1978, on purely temporary and humanitarian grounds. Between 1980 to 1982 the case of the Management is that the Workman was irregular and his attendance was erratic and he also evaded the receipt of letters sent by the Management. For the period between 16/9/1982 and 1/1/1983, it is alleged that there was absence from duty for a period of 108 days. Relying upon Rule 49(v) of the University Non-Teaching Employees (Terms and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1971 (hereinafter 'University Employees Rules') the Management treated the Workman as absconding from duties and deemed the services of the Workman as terminated on 1/1/1983, however, w.e.f. 16/9/1982, i.e., the date from when he remained absent.