NARENDRA KUMAR PANDEY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) VAKALATNAMA filed by Shri R.C. Tiwari, Advocate is taken on record. The petitioners are employees of Scooters India Limited which is a Government of India enterprise, a manufacturing unit situated at Lucknow. Awaiting wage revision by the Government, a bipartite settlement was arrived at between the management of the said company and representatives of the workers' union that Rs. 300/- shall be paid as ad-hoc payment in lieu of wage revision until the same takes place, to each workers starting from 01.08.2004. However, a clause was also added that the amount paid to the workers will be recoverable unless approved by the Board of Directors. According to the petitioners the Board of Directors in its 179th meeting dated 31.10.2006 approved the said ad-hoc payment in lieu of wage revision with certain conditions. According to the petitioners they have retired and the wage revision has yet not taken place. The further grievance of the petitioners is that although they have been paid their retiral dues but this amount which was paid to them amounting to Rs. 16,200/- each, has been withheld by the company from the dues admissible to the petitioners under the head of the Leave Encashment Account. According to the petitioner the said amount is not recoverable. Upon the facts of the present case as an interim measure it is provided that the aforesaid amount which is being sought tobe recovered by withholding the dues to the petitioners under the Leave Encashment Account, shall be kept in separate interests bearing account of some nationalized Bank till further orders of this Court in respect of the petitioners. Shri Rakesh Chandra Tewari, learned counsel for respondent No. 2 prays for and is granted three weeks' time to file counter affidavit. One week thereafter is granted to the petitioner to file rejoinder affidavit. In the meantime Union of India may also file its counter affidavit. List thereafter.