Service Continuity Restored: Punjab & Haryana HC Orders Back Wages after Acquittal

Case Name: Subhash Kumar v. State of Haryana and Another

Citation: CWP-25762-2018 and connected cases.

Date of Judgment: 22 August 2025

Bench: Justice Jagmohan Bansal

Held: The Punjab & Haryana High Court held that employees dismissed from service but later acquitted of criminal charges are entitled to continuity of service and partial back wages for the period between acquittal and reinstatement. Applying the principle that no fault lay with the petitioners once acquitted, the Court directed the State to pay 50% of the salary for the said period and count the time as duty for all service benefits.

Summary: The petitioners were police officials dismissed from service following registration of criminal cases and departmental inquiries. Despite their acquittal by the criminal courts, the departmental authorities initially declined to reinstate them or grant back wages, citing the principle of “no work, no pay.” Following litigation, this Court had earlier directed reconsideration in light of Rule 16.3 of the Punjab Police Rules, which mandates that upon acquittal, disciplinary authorities must reassess whether proceedings can continue. The petitioners were eventually reinstated by the Director General of Police, but without pay for the intervening period.

Challenging this, the petitioners sought treatment of the dismissal period as duty and payment of arrears. Relying on its own earlier ruling in Sukhbeg Singh v. State of Punjab (CWP-2482-2025), the Court reaffirmed that the principle of “no work, no pay” cannot be mechanically applied where the employee’s absence was not voluntary but caused by departmental dismissal later nullified by acquittal. It was held that the petitioners were entitled to continuity of service and to receive 50% salary for the period between acquittal and reinstatement, thereby balancing equities while avoiding undue burden on the State.

Decision: The writ petitions were disposed of with directions to the State to (i) count the period of dismissal towards continuity of service, and (ii) pay 50% of salary for the period from the date of acquittal till the date of reinstatement. The arrears, if paid within three months, would not carry interest, but delay beyond that period would attract interest at 7.5% per annum.