C RAMARAJ Vs. CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE above Writ Petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Certiorari to call for the records of the respondents pursuant to the order of the second respondent dated 12. 2. 1997 under Ref:per:est:325:143:97 and to quash the same as illegal and invalid.

(2.) IN the affidavit filed in support of the above writ petition, the petitioner would submit that he was employed as an Armed Guard in the Vijaya Bank,moore Street, Chennai-1 from 13. 11. 1987 and when he joined, he was given a basic pay of Rs. 980/= and accordingly his basic pay as on 1. 11. 1992 was Rs. 2290 and on 1. 11. 1993 it was 2450/= and on 13. 11. 1996 it was Rs. 2720/=; that without any notice whatsoever, he received a communication dated 12. 2. 1997 from the second respondent stating that as per some circular dated 3. 3. 1994, his basic pay was modified as per fitment accorded to him and the basic pay was to be regularised as follows: a) a s on 13. 11. 1987: Rs. 890/= (instead of Rs. 980/= ) b) As on 13. 11. 1992: Rs. 2070/= (As against Rs. 2290/=) c) As on 13. 11. 1993: Rs. 2210/= (as against Rs. 2450/=) d) As on 13. 11. 1996: Rs. 2450/= (As against Rs. 2720/=) The petitioner would further submit that the said letter went on to say that the excess amount paid from 13. 3. 1992 would be recovered from his salary in ten equal monthly instalments commencing from February, 1997; that the Vijaya Bank Employees Association thereafter approached the assistant Labour Commissioner (C) Bangalore, in order to protest against such reduction in the basic pay as per the alleged fitment and the learned Assistant labour Commissioner has accepted the Association's representation and advised both the Management and the Association to attend to a conciliation proceeding at his office on 28. 2. 1997 and they are still pending.

(3.) THE respondents would further submit that while the respondent Bank was eager to implement the Circular 51/94, the workmen and unions started giving dissent and due to representations received seeking reconsideration of the issue, the respondent Bank could not take action for sometimes and at that stage, the respondent Bank received a reminder from the government of India dated 26. 8. 1996 advising it to implement the Circular no. 51/94 and in the meantime, the Vijaya Bank Workers Organisation, the majority Union, filed W. P. No. 1474/1997 in the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking to issue a writ of Mandamus to declare Circular No. 51/94 as illegal and an interim order was passed therein restraining the Bank from recovering the excess salary paid, subject to the petitioner's undertaking to deposit the arrears within six weeks, if the petition fails.