The Delhi High Court has ordered Wipro to pay Rs 2 lakh to an ex-employee for defamatory remarks in his termination order.
Aggrieved by the defamatory remarks and language of the termination order, the employee had challenged the same and sought a fresh letter after derogatory remarks in the previous one, requesting the court toremove the remarks that damaged his reputation and professional integrity.
The employee worked as a principal consultant at Wipro between March 14, 2018, and June 5, 2020, was terminated on the grounds of alleged “malicious conduct”, which the company claimed caused an irreparable breakdown in their professional relationship, according to the report published by LiveLaw.
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The Delhi HC directed Wipro to pay the terminated employee Rs 2 lakh as compensatory damages for the harm caused to his professional reputation, emotional distress, and loss of credibility due to the defamatory language used in the termination letter.
The court observed that such defamatory remarks in the termination order issued by the company would unfairly damage the employee’s professional reputation and future career opportunities,sothey are liable to be expunged.
Accordingly, the Court ordered the company to remove all such statements regarding the employee’s professional conduct and issue a fresh discharge letter without any stigma. The order of the court rendered the original letter ineffective with respect to those statements.
“Needless to observe, the issuance of a fresh letter and expungement of remarks shall not alter the decision of termination of the petitioner in any manner whatsoever,” the court noted.
The judgment of the Delhi HC is enough for the company managements, specifically HR professionals,to understand the gravity of the language used in such employment relation communications and exercise restraint and be cautious while issuing such official letters.
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