Observing that distress and depression are the byproducts of modern life, the High Court of Karnataka dismissed the plea of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL), which had questioned the order for reinstating a station attendant who was dismissed from service for remaining unauthorisedly absent from work for around 632 days as he was suffering from depression.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit passed the order while dismissing an appeal filed by KPTCL against the judgment of a single judge, who had upheld the labour court’s 2019 order to reinstate S. Kiran without backwages but with continuity in service.
Emotional pressure
“Stress is the product of the psychological or emotional pressure that we experience both in our personal and occupational lives. Often it is difficult to insulate the stress, and to determine its impact on day-to-day activities... A decision to lay an employee off work, with or without just cause, may well escalate the level of depression...,” the Bench observed.
These realities of life, the Bench said, cannot be lost sight of while adjudging the woes of workmen; after all, life being what it is, spares none from its kiln.
From a judgment of the apex court, the Bench noted that “to escape stigma and discrimination, persons with mental health issues painstakingly attempt to hide their illnesses from co-workers and managers…”
Serious distress
On going through the medical records, the courts have came to the conclusion that the employee was undergoing a serious distress of mind and as a consequence, was not able to evince interest in the accomplishment of the job. That was why he had remained absent with no culpable intent to cause any inconvenience to the employer.
On KPTCL’s contention about unauthorised absent affecting the work, the Bench said that the KPTCL being an entity of the State, “has to conduct itself as a model employer; that is how a welfare State should be; it has to treat its employees with fairness and empathy; by that, it wins the heart of work force and that eventually results in increased productivity. Otherwise, where would we locate the line that bifurcates a welfare State and a colonial regime..”
