HC denies Labour Court verdict over APSRTC ex-employees

Hyderabad, Aug 15: The common division bench Hyderabad High Court has set aside the order of the labor court denying the two APSRTC ex-employees back wages without showing any reasons and even after declaring their removal from service by APSRTC as illegal.

Justice P Naveen Rao recently allowed the petitions filed separately in 2011 by Ch Suresh Babu and K Narasaiah, employees of APSRTC, against the order of the labour court.

Suresh was removed from service as part of disciplinary proceedings on the ground that he was "unauthorisedly absent" for some days in 2002. He moved the labour court which ruled in his favour by declaring his removal from service as illegal.

It, however, denied him back wages. He then approached the HC. Based on the award passed by the labour court, he was reinstated into service and later retired on attaining the age of superannuation.

As for the case of Narasaiah, a driver, the corporation removed him from service following an accident due to alleged rash and negligent driving resulting in the death of two staff members. He approached the labour court against his removal from service.

He was then reinstated into service. When the labor court denied him the back wages and increment, he moved the HC. The petitioners' counsel submitted that there was no justification to deny them back wages once the order of removal was set aside.

RTC's standing counsel submitted that as the petitioners were not entitled to the relief granted by the labor court per se, the order of denying them back wages cannot be said as illegal.