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Employee taking VRS from one PSU can join another: SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the contention of a public sector unit Hindustan Copper Ltd which withheld the benefits to an employee who had availed of voluntary retirement scheme on the ground that he had joined another PSU.

Hind Copper stopped all entitlement to the employee, Gouri Sankar Ghosh Hazara, under VRS citing a central government order which prohibited an employee of a PSU to avail of VRS and then join another PSU, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd.

However, the apex court directed Hind Copper to release the amount due under the VRS to Hazara within four weeks saying the government order had remained as a communication to Hind Copper and the same had not been made a condition in the VRS.

Hind Copper floated the VRS scheme in 1993 and the application for the same by Hazara was accepted by the management on Sept 6, 1995.After the application was accepted, Hazara joined UCIL.

However, on September 19, 1995, Hind Copper passed an order cancelling the voluntary retirement granted to Hazara saying that he at the time of taking retirement had not disclosed that he would be joining another PSU.

Hazara's challenge to the September 19 order was dismissed by the high court on the ground that under the VRS scheme of the central government, those who wanted to take VRS from one PSU should not join another PSU.

The apex court bench comprising Justice B N Kirpal, Justice Ruma Pal and Justice Brijesh Kumar said the communication between the government and the PSU remained as an internal one and the VRS did not contain the condition that the employee should not join another PSU.

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