Now, feigning illness can cost your job

NEW DELHI: Falling sick and feigning illness of kin is an epidemical ruse taken by employees to avoid transfer. No more, for the Supreme Court has given a legal prescription to employers to burst the bubble. It has said they can take action, dismissal included, to get the ‘sick’ employees out of their imaginary hospital beds.

Another thing the court noticed is that the employees, who feign sickness of a serious nature, are seen frequenting the corridors of courts challenging the transfer order or subsequent punitive action taken by the employer against the employee for not joining duty.

A Bench comprising Justices A R Lakhmanan and L S Panta was diagnosing the case of Y P Sarabhai, a security manager in Union Bank of India, who was transferred to Chennai from Mumbai. He did not join duty at Chennai and absented from work from June 3, 1997 to November 23, 1997.

The bank initiated disciplinary proceedings against him, found that he had feigned illness, and dismissed him from service on September 4, 1998, saying he was "taking undue advantage of his normal sickness to avoid transfer to the extent possible".

Sarabhai’s appeal was dismissed by the Bombay High Court, which agreed with the bank. He moved the Supreme Court challenging the HC order.

After perusing the relevant records, the apex court said Sarabhai’s conduct in remaining absent for such a long period shows that he was bent upon evading the transfer order in any possible manner.

The grounds of ailment were taken as a ruse to avoid transfer, which is amply proved by the conduct of the appellant, the Bench said.

Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Lakshmanan said though Sarabhai absented unauthorisedly on the ground that he was ill for a long time, "he was quite capable of attending the court proceedings on various days and was also capable of coming to Delhi to file a petition before the Supreme Court". Referring to the transfer from Mumbai to Chennai, the court said the capital of Tamil Nadu is also a big city with modern medical facilities.