High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging a Labour Court award. The Court held that since the petitioner was gainfully employed post-reinstatement and refused the respondent's offer of employment, backwages were rightly declined, and the writ had no merits.
Writ petition dismissed; no costs awarded to the respondent.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED:30.07.2025
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.DHANABAL
W.P.No.27811 of 2022
S.Raju ...Petitioner
Vs M/s.Cloudnine Serviced Apartments,
Rep by its Managing Director
No.32/33, Oliver Road,
Mylapore,
Chennai 600 004. ...Respondent
PRAYER: This Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Certiorari, to call for the
records in OP.No.121 of 2021 on the file of the III Additional Labour Court, Chennai and quash the award in respect of the disallowed portion
of the Original Petition and direct the respondent to pay the backwages to the petitioner from April, 2020.
For Petitioner : Mr.K.Sivasubramanian
For Respondent : Ms.S.Muthukumar
ORDER
This Writ Petition has been filed filed challenging the Order
passed by the III Additional Labour Court, Chennai in O.P.No.121 of 2021 dated 21.06.2022, wherein, the petitioner herein raised an industrial dispute before the Labour Court and the same was partly allowed by
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directing the respondent to reinstate the petitioner into service without backwages. Aggrieved by the said order in denying the backwages, the present writ petition is filed.
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industrial dispute before the Labour Court, Chennai in OP.No121 of 2021 and the same was partly allowed by reinstating the petitioner in service without any backwages. Once the Labour Court ordered for reinstatement, it ought to have ordered for backwages also. It is an erroneous finding of the Labour Court that the petitioner was gainfully employed and thereby declined to grant backwages. Therefore, the order passed by the Labour Court in respect of declining backwages is liable to be set aside.
would submit that the respondent was appointed as a driver in its Company and he was temporarily employed in the year 2015 and was paid salary of Rs.17,000/- p.m., He was irregular and was absented to work for some months and he was exactly employed from 18.12.2015 to 31.03.2019. Thereafter, the petitioner discontinued his employment and he was not stopped due to Covid - 19 situation as alleged, but he himself absented from duty. Thereafter, he raised an industrial dispute and the Labour Court directed the respondent to reinstate the petitioner without any backwages. Even after the order passed by the Labour Court when the respondent offered employment, he failed to join duty. Without
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joining the duty, he has filed this Writ Petition and hence, this writ petition is liable to be dismissed.
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reinstatement. According to the respondent, he is ready to give employment to the petitioner, but the petitioner did not appear for employment, since the petitioner was employed gainfully, the Tribunal declined to award backwages.
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that this Writ Petition has no merits and the same deserves to be dismissed. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is dismissed. No costs.
30.07.2025
Index: Yes/No Internet: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order Neutral Citation: Yes/No
To M/s.Cloudnine Serviced Apartments, Rep by its Managing Director No.32/33, Oliver Road, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.
P.DHANABAL.,J.
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Gv
W.P.No.27811 of 2022
30.07.2025
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2 issues framed by the court
Whether the High Court should interfere with the Labour Court's order declining backwages for a petitioner who was gainfully employed after reinstatement.
Whether a writ petitioner who is offered employment but refuses to join duty has a prima facie case for backwages.
S.Raju
M/s.Cloudnine Serviced Apartments
P.DHANABAL
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
