LI Network
Published on: November 24, 2023 at 00:48 IST
The Karnataka High Court underscored the significance of Article 261 of the Constitution of India, emphasizing its ‘full faith and credit clause’ that confers legitimacy and conclusiveness to judicial proceedings’ records.
The observation came as the court rejected an appeal filed by Vijaya Ganapthi, a former employee of M/s Intuit Technology Services Private Ltd, challenging the termination and subsequent proceedings before the labour court.
The appellant argued that the termination settlement presented before the Labour Court was induced against his will and under duress.
He contended that the single bench’s order, which rejected the plea challenging the termination, suffered from an apparent error on the face of the record for not addressing the alleged irregularity committed before the labour court.
The court, upholding the single bench’s order, pointed to the presumption under Section 114 of the Evidence Act, which assumes that all judicial acts are regularly performed. The appellant needed to prove that the settlement before the labour court was coerced to challenge this presumption.
The court held: “The views of the learned Single Judge as to the regularity & truthfulness of judicial proceedings, namely those which the appellant had himself taken up in his aforesaid suit, secure succour from the inner voice of Article 261(1) of the Constitution of India. The ‘full faith and credit clause’ was introduced to provide legitimacy and conclusiveness inter alia to the records of judicial proceedings. To discredit the invocation of this important rule, the appellant has not shown to us any special circumstances.”
The management countered the appeal, asserting that there was ample evidentiary material demonstrating the settlement was not induced by duress.
The bench noted that the appellant, in a civil suit, had admitted to receiving a sum of Rs.4,24,335 towards earned pay, notice pay, and leave encashment, leading to the rejection of the plaint.
The court concluded that the appellant, being a qualified software engineer, failed to substantiate his claim that the amount was received under protest. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.
Case Title: Vijaya Ganapati And M/s Intuit Technology Services Private Ltd