JAGDISH V GURSAHAN Vs. AIR INDIA LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner was in the employment of Air India, the first respondent since, 1980. On 16th March, 1990 he was suspended in view of contemplated disciplinary proceedings. The petitioner as an employee under suspension was entitled to subsistence allowance. Aggrieved by what he considered as the nonpayment of the full amount of subsistence allowance, the petitioner preferred an application under section 33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 before the Central Government Labour Court No. 1. The application was disposed of by an order dated 10th June, 1999 by which the petitioners was held to be entitled to the payment of a sum of Rs. 2,56,956/- and a direction for the payment of that amount came to be issued against the first respondent. The first respondent challenged the order of the Central Government Labour Court in Writ Petition No. 1621 of 1999 before this Court. By an order dated 4th February, 2000 passed by the learned Single Judge, the aforesaid order of the Labour Court came to be modified and the petition was disposed of in the following terms:-

(2.) ON 9th February, 2000 in compliance with the order passed by this Court, the Advocates of the first respondent requested the petitioner to attend a meeting which would be convened for the purpose of computing the amount which was due to him. This meeting was admittedly held. Thereafter another meeting came to be held on 16th February, 2000 which was attended, inter alia, by the officials of the Personnel Department and of the Accounts Department of the first respondent. A recording letter dated 16th February, 2000 came to be written to the petitioner enclosing a photocopy of the chart of the calculations which had been carried out by the officials of the first respondent. The first respondent computed the total amount which was due to the petitioner as and by way of subsistence allowance for the period 1st September, 1990 to 15th March, 1996 as Rs. 1,89,278/ -. From this amount, an amount of Rs. 27,261/- was deducted on account of Income tax and Surcharge, thus leaving a balance of Rs. 1,62,017/- as due and payable to the petitioner. The letter dated 16th February, 2000 is at Exhibit-G to the Contempt petition and contains the relevant Chart. The Chart sets out the new basic pay and the new dearness allowance, meaning thereby what is payable under the Settlements as directed by this Court besides other allowances such as H. R. A. , C. C. A. , Technical Pay and various other allowances which the petitioner was entitled to receive as part of the subsistence allowance.

(3.) ON 18th February, 2000, the Advocates of the first respondent forwarded a cheque in the amount of Rs. 1,62,017. 42 towards the subsistence allowance computed in pursuance of the order of this Court. The letter recorded that the amount had been calculated after taking the implementation of the settlements dated 31st December, 1995 and 5th May, 1996 into consideration. By this letter dated 18th February, 2000, the petitioner accepted the cheque under protest and thereafter by a representation dated 24th February 2000 disputed the computation which had been made by the 1st respondent.