Surendranagar Distt. Panchayat & Anr vs Gangaben Laljibhai & Ors

The Supreme Court held that under Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the burden of proof lies on the employee to establish that they have worked for 240 days in the year preceding termination. The Court found that the Labour Court and the Gujarat High Court incorrectly placed the onus on the employer to disprove this claim. Consequently, the Court set aside the lower courts' decisions, emphasizing that the employee's affidavit alone is insufficient to establish the claim without corroborative evidence.