Bengaluru: An employee dismissed from service as a penalty is entitled to encashment of privilege leave, the Dharwad bench of Karnataka high court ruled recently. Justice M Nagaprasanna made this observation, while allowing the petition filed by one G Linganagouda.
A resident of Hosapete in Vijayanagara district, the petitioner was working as an assistant manager in Pragathi Krishna Grameena Bank. On March 31, 2012, the bank initiated disciplinary proceedings for certain misconduct, and ultimately on Dec 19, 2014, dismissed him from service. Thereafter, he submitted a representation seeking encashment of 220 days of accrued leave. However, the same was turned down by the management, citing misconduct. Linganagouda challenged the same.
After perusing the materials on record, Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that as per the judgements of the Bombay and Madhya Pradesh high courts, leave encashment to an employee is trite, a statutory right and the right to receive terminal benefits is recognised as a right to property obtaining under Article 300A of the Constitution of India.
“Article 300A mandates that persons not be deprived of property save by authority of law. Therefore, it becomes unmistakably clear that any attempt by the employer to take away the right of any part of terminal benefit, which in the case at hand is leave encashment, without any umbrage of a statutory provision, is sans countenance. Therefore, it is a right of an employee not only under the statute, even under the fountainhead of all statutes – the Constitution of India,” the judge further observed.
The judge directed the bank to settle the petitioner’s privilege leave encashment claim in two months, failing which it will have to pay interest at 6% per annum from the date it fell due, till the date of realisation.