In Brief
A Railway Mail Service employee was suspended in 1979 on suspicion of forging money orders, then convicted and dismissed in 1997, but later acquitted on criminal appeal. He sought reinstatement and back wages. The Supreme Court held that while employees acquitted in criminal proceedings generally don't get back wages, this employee was entitled to full wages from suspension (1979) until disciplinary proceedings were dropped (1983), as the employer failed to reinstate him after that closure without passing a fresh suspension order. He was also entitled to back wages from acquittal date (2001) to reinstatement (2003).
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