and others (supra), wherein Hon'ble Apex Court has held that
denial of back wages would amount to indirectly punishing the employee
and rewarding the employer by relieving him of the obligation to pay back-
wages and where an employer wants to deny back-wages to an employee or
contest his entitlement to get consequential benefits, it is required to
specifically plead and prove that during the intervening period, the
employee was gainfully employed. Since in the cases at hand, petitioner
failed to prove factum of gainful employment, if any of the respondents
during the period in question, no illegality can be said to have been
committed by the Tribunal below, while holding respondents entitled for
back wages.
8. The Supreme Court in the matter of State of Uttar Pradesh and
others v. Madhav Prasad Sahrma (2011) 2 SCC 212) has held that
principle of 'No Work No Pay' cannot be applied as a rule of thumb.
Full back wages in certain 1 (2007) 11 SCC 488 2 (2014) 14 SCC 375
3 (2011) 2 SCC 212 circumstances may be justified particularly when
promotion is wrongly denied.
"4. The tribunal, vide separate order dated 20.03.2019 and
15.03.2019 impugned in the petitions, on the basis of evidence led by
the parties, held that there was no dispute amongst the parties that
after the publication of the award on 16.04.2014, the workman
submitted joining report Ex. W-3 in the office of petitioner No. 2 on
07.05.2014 followed by numerous reminders to both petitioners but
was taken back on duty only 29.07.2015. The Tribunal held that
joining report submitted by the workman to petitioner No. 2 was
admitted not only in the written reply but also by MW-1 Rajpal Singh
in his affidavit Ex. MW-1/A, thus it was apparent that although the
workman was willing to perform duty after the passing of the award
and that he was not taken back on duty till 29.07.2015 and on the
aforesaid basis, held that the conduct of the management clearly
revealed that it was not inclined to take back the workman on duty
whereas the workman was interested in joining duty as soon as
possible, therefore, the principle of "no work no pay" would not apply.
Reliance was placed by the Tribunal on the decision in Panipat
Cooperative Sugar Mills Limited v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court,
Ambala, 2011 (4) SCT 17 (P&H). In said case, the Labour Court found
denial of employment to the workmen at the relevant time
unjustified, consequentially, the workmen entitled for payment of
wages for the period they were unjustly denied employment.
Challenge to the order granting wages to the workmen, was
dismissed and maintainability of the claim application under Section
33-C (2) of the Act upheld by relying upon a Division Bench judgment
2024:HHC:14788
19
in CWP No. 18810 of 1995. Relevant extract of the decision in CWP
No. 18810 of 1995 is reproduced as under:--