Mohan Lal Bahuguna and Others vs Union of India (UOI) and Others

Barin Ghosh, C.J.—Petitioners are Mess employees of Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy. There is no dispute that Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy is a part and parcel of the Central Government. The Academy has been established for the purpose of training newly recruited Indian Forest Officers. Seeking regularization of their appointment/ engagement and setting-aside of the termination of the services of three of them, Petitioners approached the Central Administrative Tribunal. The Central Administrative Tribunal held that the Petitioners are not Central Government employees, nor they are employees of a Notified Authority and, accordingly, it has no jurisdiction to entertain their claims and contentions. Petitioners are, accordingly, before us.

From the facts, to which there appears to be no dispute, newly recruited Indian Forest Officers are imparted training at the Academy. While obtaining such training, the Officers concerned are required to stay at the Academy. In order to accommodate the stay of such Officers, the Academy provides one bedroom and one attached bath to each Officer. The Officers, however, do not get either a kitchen or a kitchenette as a part of their residence at the Academy. The rooms are part of two hostels. Academy has established a Mess for the Officers. The Mess, according to the Academy, is run on the collective cost and expenses of the Officers, who are undergoing training. Such cost and expenses includes payment to defray remuneration payable to those who assist in running and administering the Mess, including the Petitioners. Though in the matter of engagement and disengagement of those persons, the Director of the Academy and a faculty member of the Academy, both Central Government employees, designated in perpetuity, as President and Vice President respectively of the Mess, have exclusive say, Petitioners have not been able to bring on record that by reason of any mandate having statutory force, it is compulsory on the part of the Academy to establish, run and maintain a Mess. In those circumstances, it cannot be said that the Petitioners are employees of the Academy. We are, accordingly, not in a position to say that the Tribunal erred in not entertaining the claims and contentions of the Petitioners. At the same time, it would not also be possible for us to hold, despite the learned Counsel for the Petitioners having had cited the judgment of the Hon''ble Supreme Court, rendered in the case of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Nainital Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and Others, , that the Petitioners were and some of them are employees of the Academy, in asmuchas, in the case before the Hon''ble Supreme Court it was held that it was a statutory obligation on the part of the University to establish, run and maintain the Cafeteria and, accordingly, the staff of the Cafeteria would only be the staff of the University; whereas, in the instant case, there is no statutory flavour in the matter of establishment, running and maintenance of the Mess of the Academy.

However, it has been brought to our notice, to which there is no dispute, that in addition to people serving as Mess workers, the Academy has other employees working as Class IV and Class III employees. While such employees have been recruited and retained for the purpose of keeping and maintaining the show of the Academy, for running the Mess, Mess workers have been engaged, giving them totally different and inferior status than the others. For years, Mess employees are working without any future, without any status and without certainty of life. If this is not an exploitation of gullible people of the State what can be said to be exploitation. This exploitation is taking place at an Academy where freshly recruited Indian Forest Officers are being trained. In course of such training, they are observing, an unjust human exploitation. The future public servants are being exposed to human exploitation of people of the same Country at the very threshold of beginning of their career as public servants and that too in an institution, which is serving as their alma mater. Such exploitation having been brought to our notice, it would be appropriate on our part to take some steps to stop the same.

We, accordingly, direct the Academy not to keep engaged any Mess employee, after expiry of six months from today and, in the meantime, to make available to each of the Officers, obtaining training and accommodate in the Hostels, an independent kitchen or kitchenette so that they can cook their own food. If it is thought that it may not be possible to provide kitchenette to all the trainees or if it is felt that in the event trainees are made to cook their food, the same may hamper their training, it shall be open to the Academy to frame an appropriate scheme for running the Mess and for that purpose to engage its own employees.

The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of.