T K CHAKRABORTY Vs. STATE OF ARUNACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners have impugned the decision of the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Corporation Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the 'corporation') to compulsorily retire them from service and prayed for an appropriate writ directing the respondents to continue with them in its rolls.

(2.) I have heard Mr. C. Baruah, Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. R. K. Dutta, Advocate for the petitioners, Mr. A. Apang, Senior Govt. Advocate, Arunachal Pradesh for the respondent Nos. 1 and 2 and Mr. S. N. Sarma, Senior Advocate assisted by Mr. K. Jini, Advocate for the Respondent Nos. 3 and 4.

(3.) A brief introduction of the Corporation before adverting to the rival pleadings would be essential keeping the controversy in mind. The Corporation being registered under the Companies Act, 1956 was set up in the year 1977 for efficient utilization of forest resources in the State with an eye to the welfare of the Scheduled Tribe people thereof. The Memorandum of Association of the Corporation outlined the various activities contemplated to achieve such objectives. It is a wholly owned Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh undertaking. Initially, the Corporation dealt in timbers and later established its saw mills along with a small plywood factory. It thereafter started small tea estates on experimental basis and also raised coffee and rubber plantations. Though it established five tea estates, it could not set up any factory for production of tea. The green tea leaves produced in its tea estates were sold to the neighbouring tea estates in the State of Assam. The Corporation however, was earning profit from wood based industries. Due to the ban imposed by the Apex Court in the year 1996 on the felling of trees in the State, the Corporation had to stop extraction and marking of timbers for which its financial condition started dwindling. Situated thus, the Corporation in 2003 had to introduce a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for reducing its employees and downsizing its business activities. In the said year 334 regular employees of the Corporation opted for VRS and were accordingly retired after obtaining a loan of Rs. 12 crores from the UTI Bank because of the severe resource crunch. Following the closure of the wood based industries the financial condition of the Corporation worsened. Neither the tea estates nor the coffee and rubber plantations yielded any profit. For the acute shortage of funds, the Corporation could not regularly pay the salary of its employees which was to the tune of Rs. 15. 85 lakhs per month. Its loss started mounting as well which for the financial year 2003-2004 exceeded Rs. 10 crores and consequently it could not pay the salary and wages to its employees from April, 2005. Though the Corporation initially requisitioned the services of the Government officials from various departments of the State on deputation, it eventually recruited its staff and officers in terms of the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Corporation Service Rules, 1977 (hereinafter as the 'rules') defining and governing the terms and conditions of appointment and services of its employees. These are recorded facts and the parties are ad idem on these.