Nagpur: The Labour Court in Nagpur has sentenced former Chairman of Nirmal Urban Cooperative Bank, Pramod Manmode, to three months’ imprisonment for contempt of court after finding him guilty of wilful disobedience of judicial orders. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Assistant General Manager Narsingh Yadav in the same case.
The verdict was delivered by Judge M. R. Kolhar on a complaint filed by Atul Deshmukh, a former clerk of the bank, who had been dismissed from service on December 12, 2005.
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Back in August 2017, the Labour Court had ruled in Deshmukh’s favour, directing the bank to reinstate him and pay wages from the date of dismissal. However, the order was never implemented. The bank later approached the Industrial Court, but its revision petition was dismissed on May 6, 2023, further reinforcing Deshmukh’s claim.
Despite multiple court directives, the bank failed to reinstate Deshmukh. Left with no option, he filed a contempt plea in the Labour Court against Manmode and Yadav.
During the hearing, Manmode argued that he was not the bank’s chairman after December 20, 2016. However, the court noted that he failed to provide proof of relinquishing his position. Both Manmode and Yadav were also unable to furnish a convincing explanation for non-compliance with court orders.
Observing that the accused had “wilfully and deliberately disobeyed” judicial directives, the Labour Court held them guilty of contempt. Consequently, Manmode was sentenced to jail while Yadav was penalised.
The ruling underscores the judiciary’s stance that deliberate defiance of court orders will invite strict consequences.
