The Supreme Court upholds Labour Court’s decision of reinstatement

Brief facts of the case involve an appellant being married to the daughter of the landowner, whose land was acquired by the employer and pursuant to such acquisition the landowner as rehabilitation asked employment for the appellant who is son-in-law of the landowner. Later, matrimonial differences arose between the appellant and the daughter of the land owner, consequently the appellant filed for divorce under Sec. 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The court granted divorce. Thereafter, the landowner alleged that the appellant is not married to his daughter and therefore he is not entitled to secure job intended for the family member of the landowner, which led to the termination of his employment. The termination was challenged under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Industrial Tribunal cum Labour Court concluded that by virtue of the divorce proceedings, the appellant was married to the daughter of land owner, thus was entitled for the job and should be reinstated with full back wages. The employer filed an appeal before the single judge, which overturned the decision resulting in the present Civil Appeal NOS. 6591-6592 of 2024 before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Labour Court ordering reinstatement within 4 weeks.