Research › Search › Judgment

Himachal Pradesh High Court · body

2007 DIGILAW 10 (HP)

PAWAN KUMAR v. H. P. STATE INDUSTRIAL DEV. CORPORATION

2007-01-04

DEV DARSHAN SUD

body2007
JUDGEMENT Dev Darshan Sud, J:- The petitioner has challenged the order of the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, dated 16.3.2001, passed in Reference No.62 of 1997 whereby the petitioner has been ordered to be reinstated in service with full back seniority. While allowing the reference filed on behalf of the petitioner, it was ordered that he shall be entitled to 20% of the wages. There is no evidence on the record by the workman to show that he was unemployed. 2. It is now well settled that unless the employee shows that he was not gainfully employed, for which purpose the burden is on him, the workman is not entitled to any back wages. 3. The Honble Supreme Court of India in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghathan and Anr. Vs. S.C. Sharma, 2005 LLR 275, has held that the entitlement to back wages stands determined by the Hobble Supreme court in number i f decisions. In para-11 of the judgment in Kendriya Vidyalaya case, their Lordships have held as under: "Applying the above principle, the inevitable conclusion is that the respondent was not entitled to full back wages which according to the High Court was natural consequence. That part of the High Court order is set aside. When the question of determining the entitlement of a person to back wages is concerned, the employee has to show that he was not gainfully employed. The initial burden is on him. After and if he places materials in that regard, the employer can bring on record materials to rebut the claim. In the instant case, the respondent had neither pleaded nor placed any material in that regard." 4. This proposition of law has been reaffirmed in U.P. State Barassware Corporation Limited and Another Vs. Uday Narain Pandey, (2006) 1 SCC 479 and State of M.P. and others Vs. Arjunlal Rajak, (2006) 2 SCC 711. 5. There is thus no merit in the writ petition, which is accordingly dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.