In Brief
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's judgment granting backwages to employees terminated when their scheme was abolished. The Court held that respondents who accepted fresh appointment terms without challenging the termination order or intervening policy decisions were not entitled to backwages. Backwages can only be awarded as consequential relief following reinstatement, not in isolation. The respondents' failure to challenge the termination when it occurred, their acceptance of fresh appointment conditions, the 12-year delay in filing the writ petition, and the closure of their employment scheme collectively disentitled them from relief. The 'no work, no pay' principle applied since they performed no work during the claimed period."
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