In an interesting case titled “D Venkatesh Vs. The Registrar of Co-Operative Societies & Ors.” the KarnatakaHigh Court while dealing with legal issues relating to withdrawal of resignation by an employee held that a wifecannot seek withdrawal of resignation submitted by her husband to his employer.
A division bench of High Court thus dismissed the appeal challenging the Single Judge’s order whereby the resolution passed by the employer, permitting the husband employee to withdraw his resignation, was set at naught. The appellant had argued that the earlier Resolution dated November 30, 2021 which accepted his resignation was rightly withdrawn at the instance of his wife and therefore, the same could not have been set aside at the instance of one Prashanth R (6th Respondent therein).
The Division bench of High Court, however, declined the relief in the appeal stating that resignation is avoluntary act on the part of an employee by which he seeks to leave the service to which he is appointed. Anemployee who has tendered resignation voluntarily, is entitled to withdraw the same before it is accepted, unlessthe Service Rules otherwise provide. Even if the acceptance of resignation is not communicated to the employee,it makes no difference. Once the resignation is offered and the same is duly accepted by the competent authority,resignation is complete and irrevocable, subject to all just exceptions. In service Jurisprudence, removal,resignation, retirement & death are the conventional modes of determination of employer-employee relationship.They cut the umbilical chord of employment.
The Court observed that an employee who has submitted the resignation letter ordinarily can withdraw the same before it is accepted, unless the law
otherwise provides. But the request for such withdrawal should flow from the hands of concerned employee himself. That is not the case here. Admittedly, it is the spouse of the employee who had sought for the withdrawal of resignation of the employee and that too after it was duly accepted bypassing the Resolution on November 30, 2021. No rule or ruling was brought to Court’s notice which recognizedsuch a right in the spouse of an employee. Such an idea is alien to service law.
The Court further observed that it is not the case of the appellant that he was not in a position to apply for thewithdrawal of resignation and therefore, he had authorized his wife to make such a request and that he hadacquiesced in the same.
The Court held that permitting any person other than the employee to seek withdrawal of employee’s resignation that too without his consent, will have several undesirable consequences. If the employee himself is not willing to be in employment, how his spouse or children can cause his continuation in service, is un-nderstandable to say the least. An unwilling horse cannot be drawn to the river and made to drink the water, even in the absence of thirst.
In the above circumstances, the Court dismissed the appeal as being unworthy of merits.
Anhad Law Perspective -:
Even though the judgment was in the context of competency of withdrawal of resignation of an employee, the issue of withdrawal of resignation is a contentious issue for Courts in India.
Indian courts have held in a catena of judgments that resignation is a voluntary act of an employee. An employee may choose to resign with immediate effect or with a notice of agreed period or lower, if the employer agrees to the same. Once an employee submits the resignation, a right ordinarily emerges in his/her favour to exit from the employment upon completion of all monetary and procedural formalities, save and except in the following circumstances:
(i) where resignation is tendered to avoid disciplinary action contemplated or taken by the employer; or
(ii) where an employee is required to fulfil obligations undertaken under a bond executed by her/him or other obligations to serve employer for a specific period, in which case, the employer can advise reimbursement of charges incurred by it on training and/or other payments made by the employer, during the training, before it takes a decision to communicate the acceptance of resignation to employee, placed in such circumstances.
Thus, resignation means formal renouncement or relinquishment of office having an effect of termination of employment/service. In case relinquishment of an office is of unilateral character, the resignation stands accepted as soon as it is tendered. But in case resignation requires acceptance, the employer has to consider it and pass appropriate order. An employer may refuse to accept the resignation if an employee is seeking discharge just to avoid the adverse findings in a disciplinary proceeding pending/contemplated against him or his services cannot be dispensed with because of the nature of work/project.