Srinagar, May 21: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that an employee’s suspension period cannot be excluded from regular service merely because it was treated as “not spent on duty,” observing that such an interpretation would amount to imposing a “second punishment” without due process of law.
Delivering the significant judgment, Justice Sanjay Dhar observed that once a disciplinary authority allows the suspension period to qualify for leave, increments and retirement benefits, the same period must also be counted for regular service, seniority and promotional eligibility, except for back wages.
The Court said excluding the suspension period entirely from service would effectively wipe out a part of an employee’s career and adversely affect future service prospects.
Justice Dhar noted that denial of further service benefits beyond the penalty already imposed would amount to a “second punishment”, which cannot be inflicted without following proper legal procedure.
The Court clarified that treating a suspension period as “not spent on duty” should ordinarily be limited to denial of back wages under the principle of “no work, no pay” and should not affect continuity of service, seniority or promotion benefits.
The case pertained to an employee of J&K Bank who, despite being reinstated after facing a minor disciplinary penalty, was denied consideration for promotion after the bank excluded his suspension period while calculating the required years of regular service.
Allowing the plea, the Court directed the bank to treat the suspension period as part of the employee’s regular service for all service-related benefits, including promotional eligibility.(KNC)
