Dear Prashant
"If the court issues order of reinstatement of an employee with " 50% Back wages " means you need to take back the employee in your rolls (presuming you had terminated him earlier); and also give him half the wages of the period during which he was not paid. So, if the employee was terminated and the case dragged on for five years, you"ll have to pay 50% wages for the past five years in lumpsum.
Such orders are common, whenever a Labour Court finds that an employer has terminated an employee illegally, or without sufficient cause.
Since the employee has been denied livelihood wrongfully by the company, he is eligible for full salary.
However, owing to the fact that the employee too had not rendered any actual service; the courts, at times, awards only up to 50% or half of the wages.
This is an instance of how the Indian judicial system protects the right of workers in case of random, unfair and illegal action of employers.
Hope the concept and the judgement is clear to you now.
Warm regards.