In Brief
A widow challenged her late husband's termination from service as a Gram Sevak in 1996, filing a writ petition in 2012—15 years later and 13 years after he would have reached retirement age. The High Court had quashed the termination order. The Supreme Court held that the petition was barred by delay and laches. Since the employee would have retired by 1999 anyway, the High Court erred in entertaining the petition on the merits. The Court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court orders, emphasizing that equitable remedies cannot ignore substantial delays in prosecution, particularly where natural employment milestones have been passed.
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