Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Chandrapur vs Kavishwar Sakharm Watkar and others

R.M. Savant, J.—Rule with the consent of the parties made returnable forthwith and heard.

The above petitions filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India take exception to the common order dated 10.3.2011 passed by the Member, Industrial Court, Chandrapur, by which order the interim application filed by the respondents herein came to be allowed and the order to the following effect came to be passed.

(1) By interlocutory order the respondents are hereby restrained from terminating the services of complainants unless by due process of law and the appointment of candidates if made on the basis of recruitment shall be subject to the decision of this complaint.

The respondents herein are the complainants in Complaint ULP No. 122/2004 and 3/2011, which they have filed alleging unfair labour practice against the petitioner herein, in view of the fact that their services have not been regularized and they have not been conferred the benefits of permanent employees. It appears that during the pendency of the Complaint before the Industrial Court, the petitioner herein had initiated the process of appointing candidates for two posts of clerks and three posts of peons by following the procedure, which has been prescribed for the same inter alia issuing advertisement, etc. The said selection process is on the verge of being completed and appointment letters being issued to the selected candidates.

The respondents herein, as mentioned herein above, had filed an interim application in the Complaint (ULP) filed by them, which came to be allowed wherein directions came to be issued that their services should not be terminated without due process of law and secondly, that the appointments that would be made pursuant to the selection procedure adopted by the petitioner would be subject to the result of the petition. In my view, the second direction is totally unjustified and unwarranted, as the selection in question is being carried out by the Agricultural Produce Market Committee by adhering to the rules and regulations applicable and also by following the procedure prescribed for the same. The protection to the respondents in so far as the termination of their services is concerned, can be justifiable, but in so far as the second part of the interim order is concerned, the relief sought by the respondents has nothing to do with the posts advertised, moreover, in view of the fact that the said selection is being made by following the procedure for the same, the said direction is unsustainable. Hence, the said direction in the interim order, which is to the following effect "the appointment of candidates if made on the basis of recruitment shall be subject to the decision of this complaint" is set aside, the above petition is allowed to the aforesaid extent.

However, the contentions of the parties as regards the applicability of the Industrial Employment Standing Orders are explicitly kept open.

Rule is accordingly made absolute in terms of the above with parties to bear their respective costs.