In Brief
A school driver was retrenched in 2003 without obtaining prior approval from the Director of Education as required by the Delhi School Education Act, 1973, and without serving proper notice to the government as mandated by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Supreme Court held that the driver is a workman under labour law and that the school's retrenchment failed to comply with mandatory statutory procedures. The Court set aside the termination, ordered the driver's reinstatement, and awarded full back wages and consequential benefits from the date of illegal termination to the date of judgment, with the amount to be spread over 13 years for tax purposes.
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