Bombay High Court Validates Dismissal of Driver for Misogynistic Comments
The Bombay High Court has reinforced the decision of a fishermen’s cooperative society to terminate the employment of a driver who was accused of making inappropriate and misogynistic comments about women from the Koli fishing community. This ruling comes as a significant affirmation of the society’s decision to maintain decorum and respect within its organization.
Justice Sandeep V Marne presided over the case, underscoring that the driver’s behavior constituted severe misconduct. The court found that the dismissal warranted no monetary compensation, setting aside a previous ruling by the Industrial Court at Thane. The Industrial Court had previously declared the dismissal of the driver, Nitin Jaywant Mhatre, as illegal and had granted him compensation of ₹5 lakh instead of reinstatement.
The High Court observed that the cooperative society was well within its rights to terminate the driver’s service to ensure discipline within its ranks. Justice Marne remarked, “An employee who had become incalcitrant and who has indulged in misbehaving with the Vice Chairman by use of unparliamentary and indecent language cannot be rewarded with compensation.”
The statements made by Mhatre were characterized by Justice Marne as unforgivable and derogatory toward the women of the very community the society was set up to benefit. “Such behavior from employees must be addressed with strict measures to maintain organizational discipline. The respondent had evidently become a source of intimidation, obstructing the enquiry officer from proceeding with the investigation by resorting to threats,” the judge noted.
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The termination of Mhatre’s employment took place in January 2007 after a domestic enquiry was halted due to alleged threats directed at the enquiry officer. The chargesheet included three incidents from 2006, with the most severe occurring on October 14. During this incident, Mhatre interrupted the vice-chairman, who was advising another driver, and purportedly hurled abuses, including sexually explicit comments about the wives and daughters of Koli fishermen, in front of women members at the society’s office.
The Labour Court had initially confirmed the October 14 incident based on testimonies from the vice-chairman and additional witnesses. However, upon revision, the Industrial Court noted the absence of specific references to offensive language in the memo dated October 16 and the lack of a police report, leading to a ruling in favor of the driver and awarding him compensation.
Justice Marne concluded that the Industrial Court exceeded its revisional jurisdiction by reassessing the evidence inappropriately. “The utterances made by him indicated his mindset towards the persons for whose benefit he was employed with the organization. Such a person cannot be rewarded with compensation,” stated the Court.
Consequently, the High Court overturned the Industrial Court’s order, reinstating the Labour Court’s initial decision to dismiss the driver. The fishermen’s cooperative society was represented by Advocates Prashant Mohite and Kishor G Pashte, while Advocates Rajendra Jain, Pranil Lahigade, and Prashant Goyal represented the accused driver.
