In Brief
BHEL employees working as drivers were caught removing a heavy machine from factory premises during night shift. BHEL conducted a departmental enquiry and dismissed them for theft. They were later acquitted in criminal court on the same charge. The Labour Court and High Court set aside the dismissal, holding that the enquiry should have awaited the criminal case's outcome and that acquittal vitiated the dismissal. The Supreme Court allowed BHEL's appeal, holding that departmental and criminal proceedings are independent with different standards of proof. A properly conducted domestic enquiry is not vitiated by criminal acquittal. Dismissal was an appropriate and proportionate punishment for on-duty theft.
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