N P VERMA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these writ petitions, the petitioners are former officers and employees of the Caltex Oil Refining (INdia) Ltd., which has since been amalgamated with the Hindustan Petrolem Corporation Limited. The complaint of the petitioners is with regard to the inter se fitment of the officers and employees of the Caltex Oil Refining (INdia) Ltd. and the other two Companies which have also been amalgamated with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., namely, ESSO Standard Refining Company of INdia Ltd. and Lube INdia Ltd.

(2.) IN 1974, the Undertakings in INdia of ESSO Eastern INc., that is, ESSO Standard Refining Company of INdia Ltd. (for short 'ESSO') and Lube INdia Ltd. (for short 'LIL') were acquired by the ESSO (Acquisition of Undertakings in INdia) Act, 1974 and vested in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (for short 'HPCL'), a Government Company. IN 1977, the shares of Caltex Oil Refining (INdia) Ltd. and Undertakings in INdia of Caltex (INdia) Ltd. were acquired by the Caltex (Acquisition of shares of Caltex Oil Refining (INdia) Ltd. and the Undertaking in INdia of Caltex (INdia) Ltd.) Act, 1977 and vested in Caltex Oil Refining (INdia) Ltd. (for short 'CORIL'), a Government Company. On 5/05/1978, by the order of the Company Law Board, CORIL was amalgamated with HPCL.

(3.) WE shall have occasion to refer to the report of the Tandon Committee later in this judgment, for much reliance has been placed by the petitioners on the report. While the report of the Tandon Committee was under the consideration of the Central Government, HPCL appointed two functional directors for the purpose of formulating a rationalisation scheme. In this connection, we may refer to a letter dated 28/07/1979 of the Central Government whereby it advised HPCL that the pay-scales and perquisites of management and employees in the nationalised oil companies should be rationalised and fitted into the pay-scales of the Indian Oil Corporation, hereinafter referred to as 'IOC', a public sector Company. Further, it was stated in the said letter that the guiding principle to be adopted for the purpose was to find out the equivalence, that is to say, the equality of duty and also the equality of responsibility.