RABINDRANATH MUKHOPADHYAY Vs. COAL INDIA LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SOUNDNESS of the order passed in W. P. No. 4361/96 by a learned Single Judge of this Court declining to grant relief to the petitioners is called in question by the appellants invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent.

(2.) THE exposition of facts is as follows : The petitioner-appellant No. 1 is working as Legal Manager in the office of the Chairman-cum--Managing Director, South Eastern Coalfields Limited, Bilaspur and is General Secretary of the Coal Mines Officers' Association, SECL, Bilaspur Branch, the appellant No. 2. SECL is one of the subsidiary company of the Coal India Limited. After nationalisation of the Coal Mines, a common coal cadre of the integrated personnel taken over from the erstwhile Private Coal Companies was formed, prescribing the rules and procedures for administration of the Executives and their integration to a common and uniform set of rules. The Common Coal Cadre was implemented in the year 1978 after the approval of the Board of Directors. The said Common Coal Cadre lays down the principles for fixation of pay of the employees belonging to the executives cadre. It was amended from time to time.

(3.) BY office memorandum dated 13-1-1986 the dates of increments of the executives were fixed as 1st January and 1st July of the year. Clause 3 of the said office memorandum provided that the increment due between January 1986 and 30th June, 1986 would be released on 1st January, 1986 and the increment due between 1st July, 1986 and 31st December, 1986 would be released on 1st July, 1986. The system was followed in the subsequent orders with the result the executives appointed or promoted between the period from 1st January to 31st June became entitled to receive increment on the 1st January of the following year and the executives appointed or promoted between the period from 1st July to 31st December became entitled to receive increment in the grade on 1st July of the following year. The grievance arose when the office memorandum No. CIL:c-5a (vi)/005/35/1133 dated 10-9-1996 was issued by the Director (P and IR) by which the payscales of the executives holding the post below the Board level was revised w. e. f. 1-1-1992. However, it changed the anniversary of date of increment to 1st April as against 1st January and 1st July. The alteration in the date of increment caused distress to the petitioners for which they invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court for quashment of the said fixation being violative of the equality clause as enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution of India with a further prayer for issue of a mandamus to the respondents for restoration of the earlier system.