Non-payment of dues to employee for seeking another job against principles of natural justice: HC
Kolkata (PTI): Holding that looking for another job, even if with a rival company with better perks and facilities, is a basic right and does not constitute moral turpitude, the Calcutta High Court has held that non-payment of an employee's dues on such ground by a company was against the principles of natural justice.
Setting aside the order and punishment of the disciplinary authority of the company, which claims to be the sole manufacturer of a particular type of insulator film in India, Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) directed it to pay his gratuity dues of Rs 1.37 lakh along with simple interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum.
"Looking for another job, even if with a rival company (though, not proved in this case) with better perks and facilities is a basic right and does not constitute moral turpitude as it is not contrary to honesty, modesty or good morals," Justice Dutt observed in the judgment passed on Thursday.
The court held that the petitioner company could not prove that any damage or loss to, or destruction of, property belonging to the employer was due to any act of the respondent which was riotous, disorderly or involved moral turpitude.
"The conduct of the enquiry authority is clearly an abuse of power and totally against the principles of natural justice, there being no independent, specific findings of the disciplinary authority against the petitioner," Justice Dutt said, observing, "No reasoning nor the principles of natural justice was followed.
The petition before the high court was moved against orders passed by the Controlling Authority and the Appellate Authority, which had directed payment of the gratuity dues to Sudip Samanta, who worked as a technician in the company.
Dismissing the company's petition, the high court held that the order of the Appellate Authority is well-reasoned and within jurisdiction to the extent of the provisions of the payment of gratuity and is clearly in accordance with law.
The court noted that the petitioner company could neither produce any witness nor show any call records to substantiate their charge that the respondent was in touch with a rival company.
The witnesses produced only stated that they saw the private respondent talk to some personnel of the rival company, Justice Dutt noted.
Holding Samanta guilty of the charges against him, the enquiry officer of the company recommended his termination, while the said employee had also claimed to have tendered his resignation.
It was alleged that Samanta was in regular touch with the officials of a rival company who were trying to set up a similar unit to manufacture the same product, and that he was passing confidential information to them relating to the process, receipt and technology for the purpose.
The petitioner had claimed that as Samanta was terminated from service due to misconduct which amounted to moral turpitude and therefore due to loss sustained by the petitioner, his gratuity was forfeited.
On the basis of the report of the enquiry officer, the technician, who had joined the company in 2012, was terminated from service on October 11, 2022.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Malian defence minister killed in attack that saw jihadis and rebels seize towns, military bases
Dakar (AP): Malian Minister of Defence Gen. Sadio Camara was killed in an attack as jihadi and rebel forces seized towns and military bases across the country, according to a military officer and two other sources on Sunday.
There was no immediate comment from the Malian government.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defence, Gen. Sadio Camara, has been killed during the attack which targeted his house yesterday,” said a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the media.
Two other people, a civil society leader and a security member, confirmed the information.
Separatist fighters on Saturday joined Islamic militants in launching one of the biggest coordinated attacks on the Malian army in the capital and several other cities that left at least 16 wounded.
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali, while al-Qaida and Islamic State group-aligned militants have been fighting the government for over a decade.
Malian troops and Russian mercenaries withdrew from the northern city of Kidal after the attacks, the rebels said Sunday.
A spokesperson for the Tuareg-led Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a separatist group, said the Russian Africa Corps troops and the Malian military withdrew from the city after an agreement was reached for their peaceful exit.
“Kidal is declared free,” said FLA spokesperson Mohamed El Maouloud Ramadan.
The Malian army did not respond to requests for comment but in an earlier statement said they were “tracking down terrorist armed groups in Kidal.”
The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali. Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies.
It was the first time the separatists worked alongside the al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM, which also claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks on Bamako's international airport and four other cities, including Kidal, in central and northern Mali.
“This operation is being carried out in partnership with the JNIM, which is also committed to defending the people against the military regime in Bamako,” Ramadan said.
Wassim Nasr, a Sahel specialist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center security think tank, said that the coordination between the two groups, as well as the explicit call for the Russian military to leave, is new.
“The coordination, conducting attacks all over the country at the same time, real coordination on the military level but also on the political level because both claims of both groups they acknowledged that they worked together, this is a first,” said Nasr.
Mali government spokesperson Gen. Issa Ousmane Coulibaly said on state television late Saturday that 16 people were wounded, including civilians and military personnel, and that several militants were killed. He did not provide a death toll.
The governor of Bamako's district, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, announced a three-day overnight curfew, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Economic Community of West African States has condemned the attacks and called on “all states, security forces, regional mechanisms and populations of West Africa to unite and mobilize in a coordinated effort to combat this scourge.”
The separatists called on Russia to “reconsider its support for the military junta in Bamako, whose actions have contributed to the suffering of the civilian population.”
Following military coups, the juntas in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso turned from Western allies to Russia for help in combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.
In 2024, an al-Qaida-linked group claimed an attack on Bamako's airport and a military training camp in the capital, killing scores of people.
Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said that while the attacks were a major blow to the credibility of Mali's Russian partners, JNIM is unlikely to take control of Bamako in the near term due to opposition from the local population.
“The attacks are a major blow to Russia as the mercenaries had no intelligence about the attacks and were unable to protect major cities. They have unnecessarily worsened the conflict by not distinguishing between civilians and combatants,” Laessing said.
