Kochi, February 14 An employee's resignation must be accepted by the employer, subject to the terms in the employment contract, and refusal to do so would constitute forced labor, the Kerala High Court has stated.
The court made this observation while granting relief to the company secretary of a public sector undertaking (PSU) who was being denied the right to resign.
Justice N Nagaresh said that if there is no violation of the notice period or other conditions in the employment contract, an employer cannot refuse to accept a resignation, except in cases where disciplinary proceedings are contemplated for serious misconduct or for causing financial loss to the organization.
"In any other circumstance, if an employer refuses to accept an employee's resignation, it would amount to forced labor, prohibited under Article 23 of the Constitution of India," the court said.
The order was issued in response to a plea filed by the company secretary challenging the show-cause notices and memos issued by the PSU, directing him to resume duty after he had tendered his resignation.
The PSU had rejected his resignation and asked him to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against him.
It refused to accept his resignation because his services could not be dispensed with due to the financial position of the PSU.
Setting aside the PSU's actions, the court said that financial difficulties or an emergency could not be a reason to compel a company secretary to work against his will and without his consent.
"The disciplinary proceedings contemplated against the petitioner (company secretary) in these circumstances can only be seen as an attempt by the respondents (PSU) to violate the petitioner's right to resign from service," the court said.
It also noted that the PSU had failed to pay the petitioner's salary since October 2022.
The court observed that the petitioner resigned after his father died in 2020, leaving behind his mother, who had been suffering from neurological and psychiatric ailments for several years.
"Therefore, the petitioner had no other option but to look for another job," it said.
The court further noted that the petitioner could not secure alternative employment until the PSU sent a request to the Registrar of Companies to de-link his membership from the company.
The court directed the PSU to accept the petitioner's resignation, relieve him from service "as quickly as possible and, in any case, within a period of two months", and pay him arrears of salary, leave surrender benefits, and terminal benefits to which he is legally entitled.
It added that the payments should be made as quickly as possible, subject to the financial position of the PSU.