Employee’s promotion restored after acquittal of criminal charges; Punjab High Court orders compensation for late tip payment

background

Tilok Kumar joined Markfed in 1975 as a Field Sub Inspector and retired as a Field Officer in 2012. His request for promotion to Senior Branch Officer in 2008 was not considered due to two pending indictments and a criminal case. However, both charges were dropped – one in 2012 and the other in 2020 – and he was acquitted of the criminal charges in 2014. His retirement payments were delayed until 2020.

Arguments

Kumar argued that his juniors were promoted in 2008 but his promotion stalled due to the unresolved charges and criminal case. Since the charges were withdrawn and he was acquitted, he was entitled to a deemed promotion from the date of his junior promotion. He also claimed interest on his delayed retirement contributions, which were paid to him eight years after his retirement. Conversely, Markfed claimed that his claim for promotion was not valid after his retirement and that the payment of retirement contributions was delayed due to pending disciplinary proceedings that were concluded in 2020. They argued that Kumar was not entitled to further relief.

argumentation

First, the court recognized that the plaintiff had a legitimate right to be considered for promotion during his service. The Supreme Court, in CO Arumurgam v. State of Tamil Nadu And Union of India v. Sangram Keshari Nayakhad held that every public servant has the right to be considered for promotion. Although the charges against Kumar were pending, his right to promotion was revived after they were cleared. The court emphasized that his mere retirement does not extinguish his right to promotion. His juniors were promoted in 2008 and but for the pending case, Kumar too would have been promoted. The court therefore concluded that he was entitled to a fictitious promotion from 2008.

Secondly, on the issue of delayed retirement contributions, the court held that once the charges were resolved, Kumar was entitled to timely payment of his retirement benefits. Related to AS Randhawa vs State of Punjabthe court ruled that if there is an unjustified delay in the payment of retirement contributions, the employee is entitled to interest on the delayed amount. The court observed that Kumar’s contributions were paid eight years after his retirement without any valid reason for the delay. Therefore, Kumar was awarded interest at the rate of 6% per annum from October 2012 (three months after his retirement) until the actual payment date. The court rejected Markfed’s argument that it was justified in withholding its contributions because of pending litigation. The delay after the charges were dropped and his acquittal was unreasonable and unjustifiable. Therefore, the court directed Markfed to grant Kumar a deemed promotion to Senior Branch Officer from September 2008 and awarded 6% interest on the delayed retirement contributions payable within three months.

2024:PHHC:134069

Decided on: October 14, 2024

Plaintiff’s attorney: Mr. Shiv Kumar

Attorney for the defendant: Mr. Rishabh Gupta

Click here to read/download the order