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Judgment
107 paragraphs · 640 words1 These transfer petitions which have been moved by the Union of India are for the transfer of proceedings pending before different High Courts and different Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal to be heard by one High Court.
2 The Government of India took a decision on 20 September 2017 by which seventeen Government of India Presses, Text Book Presses or Units, as the case may be, are to be merged into five Government of India Presses. Under the decision, employees would be redeployed without retrenchment.
3 The transfer petitions cover cases which are pending before different High Courts as well as before different Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal. The cases which are pending before the different High Courts are as follows:
S No
Name of
GIP/GITBP
Date of
redeployment
order
No of
Employees
Name of
High Court
WP No
Date of Stay
1
GIP Koratty
11.12.2017
29
Kerala
WP(C) No 35610
of 2017
21.12.2017
2
GITBP Mysore
11.12.2017
25
Karnataka
WP No 55940 of 2017
13.12.2017
3
GIP Coimbatore
27.12.2017
64
Madras
WP No 1311 of 2018
01.02.2018
4
GIP Shimla
05.12.2017
91
Himachal
Pradesh
CWP No 2858 of
2017
20.12.2017
5
GITBP
Bhubaneswar
11.12.2017
37
Orissa
WP(C) No 26464
of 2017
No stay
4 The cases which are pending before different Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal are as follows:
S No
Name of
GIP/GITBP
Date of
redeployment
order
No of
Employees
Name of
Court
OA No
Date of Stay
1
GIP
Coimbatore
27.12.2017
64
CAT,
Madras
OA No 1787 of 2017
No stay
2
GITBP
Bhubaneswar
11.12.2017
37
CAT,
Cuttack
OA No 260/00741 of 2017
13.12.2017
OA No 260/00742 of 2017
27.12.2017
OA No 260/00743 of 2017
27.12.2017
OA No 260/00750 of 2017
27.12.2017
3
GIP Nilokheri
29.12.2017/10. 08.2018
80
CAT, Chandigarh
OA No 60/00765 of 2018
No stay
5 By the order of this Court dated 11 January 2019, liberty was granted to serve notice on the Standing Counsel appearing on behalf of the respective applicants before the Central Administrative Tribunal or, as the case may be, the High Courts.
6 On 26 April 2019, directions were issued by this Court for the publication of an advertisement in two national newspapers in English and Hindi in regard to the transfer petitions which seek consolidation of various proceedings which are pending before different Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal and before different High Courts.
7 An affidavit has been filed on behalf of the Union of India stating that an advertisement has been duly published.
8 Ms Pinky Anand, learned Additional Solicitor General, states, in all fairness, that it would be appropriate if all the writ petitions which are pending before different High Courts, as reflected in the above chart, are consolidated to be heard before one High Court. Insofar as the proceedings which are pending before different Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal are concerned, learned Additional Solicitor General urged that it would be appropriate if the Chairperson of the Central Administrative Tribunal consolidates all of them to be heard before the Principal Bench.
9 We allow the transfer petitions in the following terms:
(i) The writ petitions which are pending before the High Courts of Kerala, Karnataka, Madras, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa, as reflected in the chart in paragraph 3 above are transferred to the High Court of Delhi to be heard and disposed of together;
(ii) We permit the Union of India to move an application before the Chairperson of the Central Administrative Tribunal so that the proceedings which are pending before different Benches of the Tribunal are consolidated to be heard before the Principal Bench. In the event, such an application is filed by the Union of India, the Chairperson may take an appropriate decision on the administrative side.
10 In view of the above order, pending applications are disposed of.