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Judgment
Mr. N. Kirubakaran, J. - The petitioners are working as labourers under the Food Corporation of India and they are challenging the notification issued by the Central Government under Section 31 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 granting exemption to the Food Corporation of India Depot from all the earlier notifications issued, to start with on 29.06.1989.
According to the petitioners, they were originally employed as contract labourers by Food Corporation of India and they raised dispute before the Industrial Tribunal, Madras in I.D.No.55 of 1993 and I.D.No.39 of 1992, which directed the Food Corporation of India/3rd respondent to regularise their service vide Awards dated 29.07.1998 and 19.02.1997 respectively. The award was challenged by the Zonal Manager, Food Corporation of India, Chennai before this Court in W.P.Nos.11416 and 12416 of 1999 and the same was dismissed by the learned Single Judge of this Court on 14.08.2003. Against the said dismissal of the Writ Petitions by the learned Single Judge, the Writ Appeals were preferred before the Division Bench of this Court in Writ Appeal Nos.3382 and 3383 of 2013. After hearing the parties, the appeals were dismissed on 13.12.2006. Against which, Special Leave Petitions were preferred by the Food Corporation of India before the Hon''ble Supreme Court and the same are pending and no stay order has been obtained by the Food Corporation of India. The petitioners continued to be employed under the Food Corporation of India without regularization, pending SLPs before the Supreme Court. It is contended by Mr.Vijayakumar, learned counsel for 3rd respondent that pursuant to the Award passed by the Industrial Tribunal, all the workers covered under the award got the benefit under clause 12(3) settlement, entered into between the Union and the Management.
When that be the position, the Division Bench of Nagpur Bench, suo moto took up a Public Interest Litigation in PIL No.84 of 2014, based on newspaper item in the daily "The Times of India" wherein it was reported that, in the depots run by the Food Corporation of India, some of the department loaders were earning about Rs.4,00,000/- (Rupees four lakhs only) per month. The Division Bench of the Nagpur Bench was of the opinion that the said fact is due to abuse of Government funds in efficiency and reluctance on the part of the authorities to act sternly against various persons, who indulged in siphoning of Government funds. The learned Single Judge of the said Court took cognizance of the news paper item. After hearing the parties, the Public Interest Litigation Petition was disposed of giving certain directions by the Nagpur Bench and Paragraph No.30 of the order is usefully extracted as follows:-
"30. In that view of the matter, we dispose of the present Public Interest Litigation by passing the following order:-
(i) The Government of India is directed to decide the representation made by the Food Corporation of India for grant of exemption under the provisions of Section 31 of the said Act within a period of one month from today, in the light of observations made by us herein above within a period of one month from today.
(ii) The Government of India shall decide the issue regarding de-notification of the depots of the Food Corporation of India, in respect of which notification is issued under Section 10 of the said Act, within a period of six months from today, in the light of the observations made by us herein above and the report of M/s Deloitt Consultancy and the report of High Level Committee appointed by the Government of India itself.
(iii) We clarify that the respondent/Food Corporation of India would be entitled to transfer the services of departmental labourers from one depot to another subject to protecting their salary and all other service conditions.
(iv) We also clarify that the respondent/Corporation would be at liberty to implement its policy of change in the Scheme of incentives. (v) The Government of India shall also take a decision regarding abolition of system of departmental labourers in a phased manner or absorbing their services in other establishments as recommended by the High Level Committee."
Against the said order, the SLPs were preferred in SLP Nos (C)...... CC No(s).136 of 2016, (C.C.No.913 of 2016), (11465 of 2016).
The Hon''ble Supreme Court on 08.01.2016 directed the Solicitor General to take instructions from the Government of India regarding the steps taken in terms of the Judgment passed by the Nagpur Bench and thereafter only the impugned notification has been issued under Section 31 of the Act. The said notification is challenged before this Court.
Heard Mr. R. Srinivas, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, Mr. G. Rajagopalan, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for 1st and 2nd respondents and Mr. S. Vijayakumar, learned counsel appearing for 3rd respondent.
Though the learned Additional Solicitor General and Mr. S. Vijayakumar, learned counsel, would submit that the impugned notification was already challenged before the Delhi High Court by the Workers Union and only notice was ordered and thereafter only the Union members have preferred these Writ Petitions, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would submit that the purpose of filing the Writ Petitions is only to safeguard the petitioners as workers in the Food Corporation of India and based on the notification their right to be employed as workers in the Food Corporation of India should not be disturbed.
Though many contentions were raised by both the parties regarding the maintainability of the Writ Petitions and also the issue regarding the regularisation of the petitioners, which are pending before the Hon''ble Supreme Court, taking into consideration the apprehension of the petitioners that their service conditions will be affected based on the Government Order, Mr.G. Rajagopalan, learned Additional Solicitor General would submit that no action would be taken to affect service conditions of the petitioners in employing them in Food Corporation of India. The said assurance is enough to safeguard the interest of the petitioners.
Recording the above said assurance given by the learned Additional Solicitor General, these Writ petitions are disposed of. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petitions are closed. No costs.