ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, KARNATAKA vs SRI SHIVALINGA — C.A. No. 7028/2001

Case Summary: C.A. No. 7028/2001 The Supreme Court allowed the Assistant Executive Engineer's appeal and set aside the High Court's order. The respondent's employment was terminated in 1985, but he approached the Labour Officer only in 1995—a nine-year delay. The Labour Court rejected his reference citing the fatal delay and impossibility of maintaining records. The High Court overturned this, ordering reinstatement with 50% back wages; on appeal, back wages were deleted. The Supreme Court restored the Labour Court's original award, holding that the extreme delay rendered the claim stale, especially where employer records became relevant to adjudicate the employer-employee relationship dispute properly. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.