SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has partially modified a writ court order concerning payment of back wages to the legal heirs of a former employee of the Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC). A division bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar ruled on Friday that the respondents are entitled to only 50 per cent of the back wages for the 12-year period between 21 August 1987 and 22 July 1999.
The case originated with Mohammad Ayoub Shah, a conductor with JKSRTC, whose services were terminated after 22 passengers were found travelling without tickets on the Anantnag–Chattergul route. Shah challenged his termination, leading to a writ court direction for a fresh inquiry. The inquiry ultimately reinstated him with the benefit of doubt in July 1999, but the corporation refused to pay him wages for the intervening period, treating it as “no work no wages”.
Shah again approached the court, seeking back wages for the entire period he was out of service. He died during the litigation, and his wife Shareefa and children pursued the case. In 2023, a single judge of the High Court ruled in favour of the family, quashing the corporation’s decision and directing payment of the entire back wages.
Challenging that order, the JKSRTC argued that reinstatement does not automatically entitle an employee to full back wages, especially when the employee has not proven he was not gainfully employed during the disputed period. The corporation also cited its precarious financial health as a reason for limiting the liability.
The respondents’ counsel maintained that Shah was wrongfully kept out of work, exonerated in the inquiry and thus entitled to full back wages.
The division bench, after extensively reviewing Supreme Court precedents on back wages in wrongful termination cases, observed that full back wages are not an automatic consequence of reinstatement. The court highlighted that Shah was reinstated on a benefit of doubt, not a clean exoneration, and he had failed to plead or prove that he was unemployed during the intervening period. It also noted the financial distress of the corporation.
Balancing these factors, the court held that justice and equity would be served by granting 50 per cent back wages for the period in question. It directed the corporation to release the amount within three months, failing which the arrears would carry six per cent annual interest from the expiry of that period.
The judgment modifies the writ court’s earlier order, offering partial relief to Shah’s heirs after more than three decades of litigation.
