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TMI Blog2010 (4) TMI 965X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thin 6 weeks from today failing which the same shall carry interest at the rate of 9 per cent p.a. - CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3815 OF 2010 - - - Dated:- 26-4-2010 - R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND LODHA, RAJENDRA MAL, JJ. JUDGEMENT R.M. Lodha, J. Leave granted. 2. The main question is whether relief of reinstatement and back wages granted to respondent nos. 1 to 14 (for short, `the workmen') is justified. The facts leading up to this appeal by special leave are few and simple. The workmen were enrolled with the District Employment Exchange, Bhopal. On a requisition made by the Sr. Superintendent of Telegraph (Traffic) to the District Employment Exchange, the names of the workmen were sponsored and they were engaged as casual labourers in 1985 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pt the plea of the appellant that on their redeployment, the workmen abandoned their service. The Tribunal, accordingly, by its award dated August 8, 2003 directed the appellant to reinstate the workmen and pay them back wages from the date of termination until the date of reinstatement within 3 months of the publication of the award and upon appellant's failure to comply with the award within stipulated period, it was directed that interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum shall be payable. The appellant challenged the said award before the High Court by filing writ petition which was dismissed on November 9, 2005. 3. Mr. R. D. Agrawala, learned senior counsel submitted that the erstwhile Central Telegraph Office / District Telegraph ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd at best monetary compensation to the workmen could have been awarded. 6. In last few years it has been consistently held by this Court that relief by way of reinstatement with back wages is not automatic even if termination of an employee is found to be illegal or is in contravention of the prescribed procedure and that monetary compensation in lieu of reinstatement and back wages in cases of such nature may be appropriate, (See U.P. State Brassware Corpn. Ltd. Anr. v. Uday Narain Pandey(2006) 1 SCC 479, Uttaranchal Forest Development Corpn. v. M.C. Joshi (2007) 9 SCC 353, State of M.P. Ors. v. Lalit Kumar Verma(2007) 1 SCC 575, Madhya Pradesh Administration v. Tribhuban(2007) 9 SCC 748, Sita Ram Ors. v. Moti Lal Nehru Farmers Training ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ck wages in a case where the workman has completed 240 days of work in a year preceding the date of termination, particularly, daily wagers has not been found to be proper by this Court and instead compensation has been awarded. This Court has distinguished between a daily wager who does not hold a post and a permanent employee . 8. In view of the aforesaid legal position and the fact that the workmen were engaged as daily wagers about 25 years back and they worked hardly for 2 or 3 years, relief of reinstatement and back wages to them cannot be said to be justified and instead monetary compensation would subserve the ends of justice. In our considered view, the compensation of Rs. 40,000/- to each of the workmen (respondent nos. 1 to 14) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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