The General Manager – Operations Chennai Container Terminal Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. vs K. Thiruthanikumaran & Anr.

NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 11343 OF 2017 [ @ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 35215 OF 2016 ]

THE GENERAL MANAGER - OPERATIONS CHENNAI CONTAINER TERMINAL PVT LTD & ANR. Appellant(s)

VERSUS

K. THIRUTHANIKUMARAN & ANR. Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

KURIAN, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The appellants are before this Court,

aggrieved by the order dated 03.11.2016, passed

by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Writ

Appeal No. 623 of 2016. The issue pertains to

the disputes between the respondent-workman and

the appellant-Management.

3. Though this case has a chequered history, in

the nature of the order we propose to pass, it is

not necessary to refer to all those aspects, Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by JAYANT KUMAR ARORA Date: 2017.09.12 particularly having been benefitted by the 12:39:08 IST Reason:

mediated assistance rendered by Mr. Sanjay

Parikh, learned counsel, who graciously accepted 2

the request made by the Court.

4. The relationship between the

respondent-workman and the appellant-Management

has not been smooth and it has been strained to

the extent that the Management finally terminated

the respondent-workman from service. There are

several disputes with regard to his termination

and one case, being OS No. 242 of 2016 is now

pending before the City Civil Court at Chennai

and the proceedings under the Industrial Disputes

Act are also said to be pending before the

Conciliation Officer.

5. Having regard to the fact that the

respondent-workman is only around 45 years and he

is able to work elsewhere and having regard to

the background of the strained relationship

between the parties, we are of the view that it

is in the interests of both the parties to give a

quietus to the disputes. We are informed that

towards the gratuity and provident fund, the

respondent-workman is entitled to get an amount

of Rs. 9.10 Lakhs. Now, when the

employer-employee relationship is coming to an 3

end once and for all, we are of the view that the

respondent-workman should also be appropriately

compensated.

6. Having heard the learned counsel appearing on

both sides and having heard Mr.Thiruthanikumaran,

the respondent-workman, who is present before us,

we are of the view that in full and final

settlement of the entire claims of the

respondent-workman, the appellant - Management

should pay an amount of Rs.25,00,000/- (Rupees

Twenty Five Lakhs). This payment is inclusive of

the gratuity and provident fund or any other

claim of the respondent. In other words, the

respondent-workman shall not be entitled to raise

any further claim on any counts from the

appellant-Management.

7. In view of the order passed above, it is not

necessary to continue the civil suit, being

O.S.No. 242 of 2016, pending before the City

Civil Court, Chennai, which is, accordingly,

struck off from its files. The Registry shall

communicate a copy of this Judgment to the City

Civil Court, Chennai forthwith. 4

8. The pending proceedings between the parties

under the Industrial Disputes Act or any other

forum shall also stand terminated. We direct

both the parties not to indulge in any other

litigation, either civil or criminal, in respect

of the employer-employee relationship without the

leave of this court.

9. Towards the litigation expenses, the

respondent-workman shall also be entitled to a

further amount of Rs. 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty

Thousand). Hence, the total amount of

Rs.25,50,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Lakhs and

Fifty Thousand) will be credited to the bank

account of the respondent-workman within 10 days

from today.

10. With the above observations and directions,

this appeal is disposed of.

.......................J. [ KURIAN JOSEPH ]

.......................J. [ R. BANUMATHI ]

New Delhi;

September 07, 2017.

5

ITEM NO.14 COURT NO.5 SECTION XII

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 35215/2016

(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 03-11-2016 in WA No. 623/2016 passed by the High Court Of Judicature At Madras)

THE GENERAL MANAGER - OPERATIONS CHENNAI CONTAINER TERMINAL PVT LTD & ANR. Petitioner(s)

VERSUS

K. THIRUTHANIKUMARAN & ANR. Respondent(s)

Date : 07-09-2017 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KURIAN JOSEPH HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE R. BANUMATHI

For Petitioner(s) Mr. K. V. Vishwanathan, Sr. Adv.

Mr. R. Anand Padmanabhan, Adv.

Mr. Romil Pathak, Adv.

Ms. Ananya Mukherjee, Adv.

Mr. Shashi Bhushan Kumar, AOR

For Respondent(s) Dr. Sumant Bharadwaj, Adv.

Mr. Ajit Kumar Gupta, Adv.

Mr. Manoj Kumar, Adv.

Ms. Mridula Ray Bharadwaj, AOR

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following O R D E R

Leave granted.

The appeal is disposed of in terms of the signed

non-reportable Judgment.

Pending interlocutory applications, if any, stand disposed of.

(JAYANT KUMAR ARORA) (RENU DIWAN) COURT MASTER ASSISTANT REGISTRAR

(Signed non-reportable Judgment is placed on the file)