NIRANJAN ROUT Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners, who while working as workmen in Shree Sarala Weavers Co -operative Spinning Mills Ltd. were allowed to retire under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (Annexure -1), have filed this Writ Petition to quash the resolution dated 23.12.2005 issued by the Govt. of Orissa in the Department of Public Enterprises, vide Annexure -4, by which the Govt. have altered their service conditions, i.e., the conditions stipulated in the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, for which the employer of the Petitioners is not releasing in their favour the benefits provided in the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, which are the legitimate claim of the Petitioners towards their unpaid arrear salary and other statutory benefits as mentioned therein. The Petitioners have also prayed for a direction to the Opposite Parties to implement the decision taken by the State Govt. in Annexures 1 and 2 and to pay them the balance dues, i.e., arrear salary (incremental) from 1.7.1990 to 31.12.1998, revised scale of pay with effect from 1.1.1999 as per the statement in Annexure -7 series.

(2.) THE facts giving rise to this Writ Petition briefly stated are that the Petitioners were working as Junior Electrician and Ring Frame Head Jobber respectively in Shree Sarala Weavers Co -operative Spinning Mills Ltd. at Tirtol in Jagatsinghpur district (hereinafter called 'Sarala Spinning Mill'), which is a State -owned Co -operative Enterprise. As the spinning mills in the State functioning under the Orissa State Co -operative Spinning Mills Federation Ltd. ('SPINFED' hereinafter) incurred huge loss due to mismanagement, overstaffing and shortage of raw materials, etc., they required organizational restructuring and some of them required closure of the enterprises. In the meantime the State Govt. in Public Enterprise Department, O.P. No. 2, floated a Voluntary Retirement Scheme in 1998 for the employees working in the Co -operative Spinning Mills including the Sarala Spinning Mill under the control of the SPINFED and restricted application of such Scheme to regular employees of the spinning mills below the age of 55 years. The aforesaid scheme, annexed to the Writ Petition as Annexure -1, provided that an employee opting voluntarily retirement under the VRS would get all his arrears and 21 days ex gratia for every year of completed service plus gratuity plus leave encashment. In addition thereto, the employee would be entitled to receive arrear salary, provident fund, Employee State Insurance unpaid bonuses and any other due which accrued over the years of service. The State Govt. in Textiles and Handloom Department (O.P. No. 2) by the memo dated 12.7.2001 issued instruction to calculate the dues under the VRS along with arrear salary/wages and bonus of the workmen working in Sarala Spinning Mill. On 25.8.2001 a meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary to Govt. in Textiles and Handloom Department to discuss issues relating to restructuring in textiles and handloom sector and as per the minutes of the said meeting, vide Annexure -2, it was decided, inter alia, that the arrear salary and other statutory dues would be cleared by the Public Enterprise Department in respect of the employees of the PSUs ordered to be closed/liquidated for which substantial restructuring plan was approved by the Govt. According to the Petitioners, while they were continuing in their respective posts & were not paid their wages/salary, the Managing Director of Sarala Spinning Mill by the notice dated 28.7.2001, vide Annexure -3, compelled them to apply for VRS within a week failing which they were threatened with the consequence of retrenchment. The Petitioners finding no other alternative applied for retirement under the VRS, Annexure -1, & the management in its turn forwarded such applications to O.P. No. 4 -Managing Director of SPINFED by letter dated 5.12.2001 indicating therein that the eligible employees would continue in employment till the disbursement of their final dues. In terms of the aforesaid letter dated 5.12.2001, the Petitioners were allowed to continue to discharge their duties & were relieved on 14.6.2006 but they were not paid their dues as per the Scheme, i.e., Annexures 1 & 2. But before the Petitioners were relieved on 14.6.2006, O.P. No. 3 forced them to sign on the undertaking to the effect that the amount to be received such as ex -gratia, gratuity, leave encashment, would be the full & final settlement of their dues from the Govt. & they would not claim any unpaid salary, ex -gratia & gratuity etc. It is alleged that under compelling circumstances & as they were passing through severe financial hardship due to nonpayment of salary since 1998 & their family members were virtually starving, they furnished the undertaking so directed & were relieved from service on 14.6.2006 but the same was given effect to from 1.11.2001. According to the Petitioners, the aforesaid undertakings were obtained on the basis of the resolution dated 23.12.1005 issued by the Public Enterprise Department, vide Annexure -4, wherein the Co -operative Enterprises were directed to obtain undertaking from the employees applied to be covered under the VRS that they would not claim any dues from the State Govt. in any forum except 21 days of salary (basic pay + D.A. + IR, if any) for every completed year of service plus gratuity & leave encashment, as admissible under the Scheme. The Petitioners have challenged the aforesaid resolution in Annexure -4 & have prayed for the reliefs indicated hereinbefore.

(3.) O .P. No. 3 -the Asst. Director, Textiles -cum -Liquidator of Sarala Spinning Mill has filed a counter affidavit taking similar stand as taken by O.P. No. 4 in his counter affidavit.