- (1.) We are granting special leave. We are also disposing of this appeal on merits after hearing learned counsel on both sides.
(2.) The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. , the appellant had appointed the respondent as one of its Inspectors. There were two stipulations governing the conditions of his service in the order by which the respondent was appointed. One of them related to continuation in service of the respondent as probationer unless confirmed, while the other related to termination of his service at any time by giving one month's notice or on payment of one month's salary in lieu of such notice. By a notice dated 19/05/1980 served upon the respondent on 26/05/1980 the respondent's service was terminated with effect from 18/06/1980. The respondent instituted a suit in the Munsiff court seeking a declaration that the termination of his service effected by the appellant was illegal and he was entitled to be reinstated with back wages. That court recorded a finding of fact that the respondent's service with the appellant at the time of his termination was on probation in (Venkatuchala. J. ) as much as his service was not confirmed. It, however, found the termination of service of the respondent to be illegal for non-giving of one full month's notice as a condition precedent for such termination. Yet, it dismissed the plaintiff's suit as barred by the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The respondent took up the matter in appeal before the Civil Judge court. That court affirmed the finding of the Munsiff Court as regards the respondent being on probation at the time of termination of his service, but upheld the view of the Munsiff Court that the termination of the respondent's service by the appellant was illegal for want of one month's prior notice. However, taking the view that a suit for mere declaration of invalidating termination of the respondent's service could lie in a civil court, granted the decree declaring the termination of service of the respondent to be illegal, in reversal of the decree of the Munsiff Court. When the appellant took up the matter in second appeal before the High Court, it affirmed the decree of the Civil Judge Court, even though it specifically affirmed the finding of fact concurrently recorded by the courts below that the respondent was in service as a probationer at the time of termination of his service. It is this decree of affirmation made in the second appeal by the High Court which is the subject-matter of the present appeal brought up by the appellant.
(3.) It was submitted by learned counsel for the appellant that the courts below had overlooked the apparent purport of clause 10 of the appointment order and had misread the clause. According to him, assuming that under the clause a probationer's service also was liable to be terminated with one month's notice failure to serve one month's notice did not invalidate or vitiate the termination of the respondent's service effected by notice dated 19/05/1980, for service of such notice as a condition precedent for termination of the service of the respondent was not a mandatory requirement, the breach of which could result in vitiation of the termination. In any event, non-service of such one month's notice before termination of the respondent's service, could have at the most entitled him to claim one month's salary in lieu thereof and nothing else. The submission of the learned counsel, in our view, is well founded.;