The Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court recently slammed Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) for mistreating one of its employees. The said employee, Ramesh Gholave, a technician who suffered a paralytic attack in 2014, had been terminated in 2018 as MSEDCL deemed him medically unfit.
His termination was deemed illegal by the bench, which constituted of justices Ravindra Ghuge and Sanjay Mehare. The plea filed with the court reveals that Gholave suffered a paralytic attack in November 2014, which rendered him 65 per cent physically unfit. He then approached his employer several times in 2017 and 2019 requesting for a lighter job, as medical records from various neurologists stated that he was physically fit enough to do lighter work. However, the Company terminated his employment in 2018.
Gholave relied upon the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, to challenge his termination but ultimately succumbed to his medical issues in 2020.
The employer, MSEDCL, claimed that the termination of employment wasn’t a wrong step on its part, while the bench reviewing the case said that in this case, terminating such an employee should have been the last resort. Further, no employer should behave in such a ruthless manner. Instead of displaying compassion, MSEDCL had acted in an inhumane manner, the bench concluded.
The HC has ordered MSEDCL to pay all the arrears of the deceased employee to the family and also reimburse his medical bills, which amount to about Rs 12 lakhs.
