The Court dismissed a plea from Bharat Electronics Limited against a single judge order, directing it to consider one of its former employee’s case under Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

K M Jayaprakash, who was working as Additional General Manager (International Marketing) with BEL had applied for retirement under VRS during the years 1995, 1996 and 1997 all of which applications were rejected. Fed up, he had filed an application in October 1997 calling upon the company to grant permission for voluntary retirement or treat the application as resignation letter.

Then the company had accepted his resignation and had relieved him from service with terminal benefits. He petitioned the High Court against rejection of his applications under VRS and had sought a direction to consider his case for VRS benefits. The petition was allowed by a single judge, who directed the company to consider his reasonable request for VRS. BEL challenged that order before a Division Bench. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice Anand Byra Reddy, before which the matter had come up on Monday, observed that single judge had rightly decided in favour of the employee. It observed that the company had acted arbitrarily by rejecting his applications thrice, with stereotyped endorsements, though it had accepted the applications from many similarly placed officials. The Bench rejected company’s defence that VRS had not been granted since there was no other employee to be placed in Mr Jayaprakash’s position, while observing that if it were true, then company would not have readily accepted his resignation.

The Bench dismissed BEL’s appeal.