Dear Ajit,
A punishment awarded to an employee carries with it a stigma so as to affect his career prospects or future employment elsewhere. Therefore, when an employee, irrespective of his status of employment, is subjected to disciplinary action and awarded some punishment by the Disciplinary Authority, naturally, he could be aggrieved about the quantum of the punishment as a disproportionate one or about the manner the disciplinary proceeding was conducted or the entire action as a measure of victimization. Therefore in such a situation, appeal against the punishment becomes a natural corollary. Appeal against the punishment awarded in a disciplinary proceedings to a workman lies with the Appellate Authority, if so provided for in the Standing Orders or Service Regulations of the organization. Otherwise he has to seek statutory remedy only.
Of course the statutory remedy of appeal against punishment awarded to a workman differs depending on the nature of punishment awarded.
If the punishment is dismissal, he can exhaust the remedy of the provision for appeal within the time-limit, if so provided for in the establishment-specific labor law applicable to his establishment. Examples are State Shops and Establishments Acts, Beedi and Cigar Workers Act,1966 etc. Otherwise he has to raise a dispute u/s 2-A(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act,1947 within three years from the date of his dismissal, discharge, retrenchment etc., resulting in his non employment.
In respect of any other punishment like punitive suspension, stoppage of increment, demotion and the like he should approach his trade union to espouse his cause and the trade union concerned should raise a dispute u/s 2(k) of the ID Act,1947 before the area conciliation officer and if conciliation fails the dispute would be referred for adjudication.