SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Writ Petition involves the following prayer:

(2.) It appears, this Writ Petition is filed challenging the Order, dtd. 17/9/2014 passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Sambalpur in I.D. Misc. Case No.1/88(SC)-725 thereby Opposite Party No.1 the Presiding Officer identified late Dugru Seth father of late Kanhei Seth, the husband of Opposite Party No.2 to be one amongst 1200 Workman entitled to the benefit of the Order, dtd. 13/8/1985.

(3.) This Writ Petition at the instance of the Management is filed challenging the aforesaid direction on the premises that some of the victims claiming to have been affected by way of retrenchment visited through the Industrial Tribunal till the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Court by its Order, dtd. 13/8/1985 in disposal of Civil Appeal No.348 & 349 of 1974 declared, the Workers working in the work charged establishment of the project prior to 1/4/1960 are entitled to the same scale of pay and other conditions of service as before as if they were Employees of the work charged establishment of the Central Public Works Department. As it appears, taking advantage of this order after so many years the Legal Heirs of late Dugru Seth claiming to be the Legal Heir of the affected Employees brought Misc. Case No.1/88(SC)-725 on the file of the learned Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Sambalpur. The applicant therein was of course subsequently substituted by his wife Sandhya Seth, making a claim for identification of late Dugru Seth as a Workman for being entitled to the benefits of the order of the Hon'ble Apex Court, dtd. 13/8/1985. The case before the Presiding Officer was; one Dugru Seth was appointed as Blacksmith under the Hirakud Dam Project with effect from December, 1957 and was retrenched in the year 1962 to be appointed in the State's scale. It is further claimed that while Dugru Seth was continuing in services expired on 17/12/1981. Under the pretext that Dugru Seth was within the 1200 Workman prior to 1/4/1960 it is claimed that he ought to have got the benefit in terms of the direction of the Hon'ble Apex Court taken note herein. Upon service of Notice the Management appeared, however, claimed that this Dugru Seth being an appointee for the first time as a Fitter Grade-III on 17/3/1961, continued in the said post upto 31/10/1963 and was reappointed and continued upto till 16/12/1982 till his death. The Management thus contended that this Dugru Seth was not an Employee appointed prior to 1961, thus he is not entitled to the benefit of the Judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court. Involving contest of both the parties proceeding before the learned Labour Court was concluded by Order, dtd. 17/9/2014 thereby observing Dugru Seth is an identified person amongst 1200 Workmen and he is, accordingly, entitled to the benefit of the Order, dtd. 13/8/1985 of the Hon'ble Apex Court and thus the Labour Court directed the Management to compute the differential pay as well as the other dues and file a computation by 18/10/2014 resulting filing of the present Writ Petition. Undisputedly the proceeding involved herein could not be continued for the pendency of the Writ Petition.