CHENNAI: Not one or two, this dismissed transport employee from Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu has won 14 judicial orders in his favour - seven in the Madras high court, five in the Supreme Court and one each in the industrial tribunal and a criminal court.
When he started his legal battle, T Neethivilangan, who was dismissed as junior superintendent in Cholan Roadways Corporation (CRC) in 1983, was 34 years old. Now, he is 62, a good four years past his age of retirement. With the TN government itself donning the role of a rogue litigant bent on circumventing all judicial orders, Neethivilangan was denied his rightful benefits all these years.
"It was too much of a torture. Not even my family members were aware of the stress I was suffering all these years. I had some ancestral properties and my in-laws too were very helpful," Neethivilangan told TOI.
The Kumbakonam-based CRC first suspended Neethivilangan on charges that he failed to inform the misappropriation of over Rs 50 lakh by his co-employee, Rajagopalan. In 1994, the jurisdictional industrial tribunal rejected the CRC management's plea to approve his dismissal. That was the first victory for Neethivilangan, and it also marked the government's endless efforts to see him out. The CRC approached the high court, which also refused to reverse the tribunal order. In 1998, the Supreme Court also refused.
Though the apex court's order usually means the end of litigation, Neethivilangan was forced to file another petition in the high court in 1999 after the CRC did not take him back. This round of litigation too ended with the apex court dismissing the CRC's special leave petition.
The authorities invented ways to defeat this second order of the apex court. He was reinstated in service on July 16, 2001, only to be suspended the same evening and dismissed later. Neethivilangan embarked on another round of litigation, this time directly before the apex court, which advised him to file an execution petition before the subordinate court for implementing its orders. The execution petition is still being heard by the Cuddalore Labour Court, which is unable to settle it because the CRC management has been taking adjournments after adjournments.
Meanwhile, the criminal case, which was cited for his removal, too ended in his favour, with the court acquitting him of all charges. Another round of litigation, this time challenging his second removal from service, too ended with the Madras HC quashing it. Though he should have been reinstated in three months, the authorities have not complied with the order.
"My father is now 62. Can the government give us our happiness back? asks S Suganya, who was five years old when her father lost his job.
When he started his legal battle, T Neethivilangan, who was dismissed as junior superintendent in Cholan Roadways Corporation (CRC) in 1983, was 34 years old. Now, he is 62, a good four years past his age of retirement. With the TN government itself donning the role of a rogue litigant bent on circumventing all judicial orders, Neethivilangan was denied his rightful benefits all these years.
"It was too much of a torture. Not even my family members were aware of the stress I was suffering all these years. I had some ancestral properties and my in-laws too were very helpful," Neethivilangan told TOI.
The Kumbakonam-based CRC first suspended Neethivilangan on charges that he failed to inform the misappropriation of over Rs 50 lakh by his co-employee, Rajagopalan. In 1994, the jurisdictional industrial tribunal rejected the CRC management's plea to approve his dismissal. That was the first victory for Neethivilangan, and it also marked the government's endless efforts to see him out. The CRC approached the high court, which also refused to reverse the tribunal order. In 1998, the Supreme Court also refused.
Though the apex court's order usually means the end of litigation, Neethivilangan was forced to file another petition in the high court in 1999 after the CRC did not take him back. This round of litigation too ended with the apex court dismissing the CRC's special leave petition.
The authorities invented ways to defeat this second order of the apex court. He was reinstated in service on July 16, 2001, only to be suspended the same evening and dismissed later. Neethivilangan embarked on another round of litigation, this time directly before the apex court, which advised him to file an execution petition before the subordinate court for implementing its orders. The execution petition is still being heard by the Cuddalore Labour Court, which is unable to settle it because the CRC management has been taking adjournments after adjournments.
Meanwhile, the criminal case, which was cited for his removal, too ended in his favour, with the court acquitting him of all charges. Another round of litigation, this time challenging his second removal from service, too ended with the Madras HC quashing it. Though he should have been reinstated in three months, the authorities have not complied with the order.
"My father is now 62. Can the government give us our happiness back? asks S Suganya, who was five years old when her father lost his job.
Source https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/14-cases-won-TN-man-still-jobless/articleshow/10295561.cms
