In Brief
The State of Bihar terminated employees when an Adult Education/Informal Education Scheme was abolished in 2001. Later, the State re-adjusted some of these employees under a new policy (2005) into fresh appointments with different terms (2007). The employees sought backwages for the 2001–2007 period without challenging their termination or the new appointment terms. The High Court granted backwages relying on a similar earlier case. The Supreme Court held that backwages can only follow reinstatement, not be awarded independently. Since the employees accepted fresh appointments without challenging either the termination or new terms, and filed their petition years later, they were barred by laches and the 'no work, no pay' principle. The appeal was allowed and the writ petition dismissed.
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