LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA Vs. SUNIL KUMAR MUKHERJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a group of 15 appeals which raise a common question about the validity of the orders passed by the appellant Life Insurance Corporation of India terminating the services of its employees who are the respondents in these appeals. The facts which give rise to the present disputes between the parties in all the 15 cases are substantially similar, and so, it would be enough if we state the relevant facts in one of these cases. One of the respondents is Sunil Kumar Mukherjee. He was in the insurance line since June, 1941 and had been confirmed in his service by the Metropolitan Insurance Co. Ltd., in March, 1950. Since about 1953, he had been working as Inspector of the said Company, and since March 18, 1955, he was holding the appointment as Inspector at Barrackpore. The appellant which took over the controlled business of the Metropolitan Insurance Co. Ltd., terminated the services of Mukherjee by an order passed on October 16, 1958. The respondent then moved the Calcutta High Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution and prayed for a writ of certiorari or other appropriate writ or order quashing the said impugned order of discharge passed against him. Sinha, J. who heard the writ petition allowed the petition and directed that a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing and/or setting aside the impugned order be issued. A further writ in the nature of mandamus was also issued directing the respondents to the writ petition not to give effect to the said impugned order. To the petition filed by the respondent, he had impleaded eight. respondents, the principal amongst them being the appellant Corporation and the Union of India.

(2.) Aggrieved by the decision of Sinha, J. the appellants preferred an appeal under the Letters Patent before a Division Bench of the said High Court. Bose, C. J. and Debabrata Mukerjee J., who heard the Letters Patent appeal substantially agreed with the view taken by Sinha, J. and confirmed the order passed by him. The appellants then applied for and obtained a certificate of fitness from the said High Court and it is with the said certificate that they have come to this Court in appeal. On similar facts, the appellants have brought to this Court the other further appeals, and a common question which has been raised by the learned Solicitor-General on behalf of the appellants is that the High Court was in error in holding that the orders of discharge passed respectively against the respondents in these appeals were invalid.

(3.) Before dealing with the points raised by the appellants in the present appeals, it would be convenient to set out the relevant orders passed in respect of the appointment and discharge of the respondent Mr. Mukherjee. When Mr. Mukherjee was appointed a wholetime Inspector by the Metropolitan Insurance co. Ltd. on the 18th or 19th March, 1955, the terms and conditions of his employment were communicated to him by a document which contained 14 clauses (Annexure A to the W. P.). Clause 13 of this document provided that the appointment was subject to termination without notice in case he was found guilty of fraud, misappropriation, breach of discipline, insubordination, acting detrimental to the interests of the company, disloyalty or gross neglect of duty:provided, however, that he would be entitled to 30 days' notice if his services were terminated for any other reason. It is thus clear that under the terms and conditions of Mr. Mukherjee's original appointment with the Insurance Co., he was liable to be dismissed for misconduct and was entitled to receive 30 days' notice if his services were terminated for reason other than misconduct.