Shivalingam had encroached upon 0.91 acre of land at Sampajehalli (Dakshina Kannada district), and had claimed that it was allotted to him by the revenue department. He was dismissed from service following a departmental inquiry.
Shivalingam challenged the dismissal at the labour court in Mangalore, which ruled in his favour and observed, “We are unable to agree with the finding of the inquiry officers, who state that the applicant has committed a misconduct by encroaching upon the land.”
Allowing his petition, the court directed the department to reinstate him saying, “Encroachment of land is a civil dispute and cannot be considered as a misconduct.”
When KSFDCL challenged it before the High Court Justice H V G Ramesh set aside the labour court order and upheld the Corporation’s order, saying that person who has to protect cannot indulge in such activities.
Published 26 July 2009, 19:15 IST