AKHILESHWAR PRASAD DWIVEDI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution has been filed praying for several reliefs. The first relief is that a writ of mandamus be issued commanding the respondents to pay him the scale and other allowances equal to that of an officer of the same rank working in the National Textile Corporation (for short, the N.T.C.) treating the petitioner to be an employee of the said Corporation under the principle of equal pay for equal work. The second relief is that a direction be issued to the respondents to transfer the petitioner to any other unit of the N.T.C. and to permit him to work as a Deputy Chief Engineer and to pay him the difference of salary w.e.f. 1993 and the entire arrears of salary w.e.f. 29.9.1999. The third relief is that the order passed on his representation on 6th/10th July, 2001, be quashed.

(2.) The case set up in the writ petition is that Swadeshi Mining and Manufacturing Company Ltd. owned some sugar mills including Ganesh Sugar Mills, Anand Nagar. The petitioner was appointed as Dy. Chief Engineer in Ganesh Sugar Mills on 14.11.1992. The Union of India acquired all the six textile mills of Swadeshi Cotton Mills by Swadeshi Cotton Mills (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1986. The result of this acquisition was that Swadeshi Mining and Manufacturing Company Ltd. whose 98 percent shares were held by the Swadeshi Cotton Mills Company also stood vested with the Union of India. The petitioner, thus, claims that he should be given the same scale and salary as that of an officer of equal rank in the N.T.C.

(3.) The petitioner claims to have made several representations for payment of salary, etc. As no action was taken, he filed Writ Petition No. 20915 of 2000, in which a direction was issued by this Court on 25.5.2001, to decide his representation. Thereafter, the representation made by the petitioner was considered and rejected by the order dated 10.7.2001 (Annexure-11 to the writ petition). The petitioner has sought quashing of this order.