The Tamil Nadu government will take back all 1.7 lakh dismissed employees except those against whom cases have been registered. This undertaking was given to the Supreme Court today by K.K. Venugopal, senior counsel, who appeared for the state.When a two-judge bench comprising Justice M.B. Shah and Justice A.R. Lakshmanan commenced hearing the five petitions pending before it, Venugopal said the employees will start joining from tomorrow. However, this would be subject to the employees tendering an unconditional apology and giving a written undertaking that they would abide by Rule 22 of the TN Government Service Conduct Rules.The bench ruled that there shall be no break in service in case the employees join duty. They would, however, get their salary only from tomorrow. It said that in an order to be passed on July 31 it would deal with the ways to reconcile the absence from duty in the service records without it being construed as a break in the service.Venugopal submitted that the process of enquiry had commenced and applications would be looked into. And during this period the government would pay the employees subsistence allowance. The counsel told the court that of the 1.7 lakh employees almost a lakh had been instigated, incited and forced to join strike. ‘‘Their offices were locked by their colleagues,’’ he said.The court agreed with him and referring to the tendency to go on a strike whenever dissatisfied said: ‘‘This should not be encouraged. We agree that law must be strictly enforced. This mindset has to change.’’When the bench asked the Counsel what the outer limit of the employees who may not be taken back would be, he said about 5,000. Immediately, P. Chidambaram, the counsel for one of the petitioners, submitted that by Venugopal’s own admission only 2,200 FIRs were registered and questioned the figure of 3,000 extra.‘‘Is it plausible that 3,000 people indulged in violence and the state government kept quiet for 20 days without registering FIRs,’’ he asked. Chidambaram urged the bench that there should not be any victimisation of the employees, to which the judges concurred.The bench said that those who will not be taken back can approach the high court for remedy.
