Bharat Forge Co. Ltd. v. Uttam Manohar Nakate

Bharat Forge Co Ltd v. Uttam Manohar Nakate is an Indian labour law judicial decision concerning the dismissal of a worker who was found to be asleep in 1983. After 22 years, the Supreme Court of India upheld the dismissal of the employee in question.

Facts

Uttam was a helper in Bharat Forge. He was found lying fast asleep on an iron plate in the corner of the department at 11:40 a.m. on 26 August 1983. This was the fourth time this had happened. After five months of disciplinary hearings, the company fired him in January 1984. Uttam went to court, which found the company guilty of "unfair labour practice" and forced the factory to take Uttam back and pay him 50 percent of his lost wages. The company appealed the decision before the Bombay High Court and eventually to the Supreme Court of India, reported as AIR 2005 SC 947.

Judgment

In 2005 the Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the company had the right to fire him.

Significance

Nakate's case is often used as an example of the problems with Indian labour law system of requiring government approval before dismissals can take effect.