St. Anthony’s Hardware Stores Ltd. v. Ranjit Kumar and Another – 1978_79 volume 2 page 006

In St. Anthony’s Hardware Stores Ltd. v. Ranjit Kumar and Another, the court addressed whether termination on grounds of inefficiency or incompetence constitutes dismissal “by reason of punishment imposed by way of disciplinary action” within the meaning of the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act, No. 45 of 1971. It was held that such termination does not fall within disciplinary action that would oust the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Labour. The principle reaffirmed that incompetence, involving lack of ability rather than misconduct, cannot be treated as a disciplinary matter requiring punishment, and therefore, the statutory procedural safeguards under the Act apply. Reference was made to section 2(1) and 2(3) of the Act, as well as relevant case law dist