New Delhi, May 09: The Delhi High Court has said that unauthorised absence from workplace justifies termination of an employee by his/her organisation. The ruling came from Justice Pradeep Nandrajog on a petition filed by one Vinay Kumar Tyagi, who had challenged his termination from service by Harijan Sevak Sangh (HSS). "An employee who remains absent without leave being sanctioned is on unauthorised absence. Unauthorised absence justified the termination of an employee", it said. Interestingly, the court dismissed Tyagi's plea not on the ground of his unauthorised absence from the workplace but on a technical ground that he had raised certain questions of facts which could not be decided by the court under writ jurisdiction. The court advised him to file a civil suit for the desired remedy.
Tyagi, an internal auditor with the HSS, had challenged his termination from service following absence from work for over four months, after the lapse of initial sanctioned period of 92 days. He had cited "unavoidable circumstances" as a reason for his absence.Contending that he had taken permission to go on leave as he wished to undertake a course, Tyagi submitted that he had been verbally assured that he would be granted further leave beyond the already sanctioned 92 days, if he mentioned "unavoidable circumstance" as the reason. However, HSS alleged that Tyagi had taken up another job without informing the organisation and failed to reply to show cause notices and he challenged his termination after nearly three years.
Bureau Report