PATNA NAGAR NIGAM SEVA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE payment of dues of public servants of a public body should not become such a hassle to tie the lowest employees into legal wrangles. The first was a set of employees of government companies and corporations, then employees of the government itself. Now, it appears another disease is coming to the fore, that is, employees of Municipal bodies. It has taken the court almost two years to require the Patna Municipal Corporation to take care of the unpaid employees. The orders of the court passed from time to time are on record. In between the State of Bihar and the Patna Municipal Corporation, they played games. On the one hand while they were telling the court that the due to the employees is being deposited, one of them was going to the Supreme Court only to have the Special Leave Petition dismissed. Ultimately, the Corporation or the State government did exactly what was to be done two years ago except that time added to the arrears. Five crores to be deposited became seven crores. After 31 March 2004 another set of payment may have to be deposited. Today, the Counsel for the Corporation acknowledges that the situation within the Corporation and its administration, is haphazard.

(2.) COUNSEL for the petitioners makes a statement that while now an exercise was set in motion to identify the employees to line them up from the date of their appointment and the work had started, the Chief Executive Officer is being posted out. This was also done when the court had directed that the employees of the Corporation have to be paid, identified and the agreed amount (between the Corporation and the State) is to be deposited, The court had ordered that the officers will not take their salary until the employees who are waiting their arrears of payment are paid. Instead of paying their salaries between the Corporation and the State government, they transferred the officers out. The same thing is being done again. Would not this be an interference in the administration of justice and frustrating a matter when the exercise to identify the employees and pay their arrears is mid way? This may be contempt. Now only that the matter has been to the Supreme Court on an unsuccessful challenge by the State government, not paying the arrears to the lowest employees is now taking an endemic form in Bihar.

(3.) THE Patna Municipal Corporation does not know who it 'semployees are. Today, the Court is being told that about 70% of the employees have been located. this is scandalous. Friction is being created with the employees. Unless one identifies the employees, an employer cannot pay him and a public body does not know who the employees are nor would one know when they were recruited, chronologically. Unless all these facts and figures are available there will be questions that either the appointments have been made on fear or favour or an exercise is afoot to hide the employees who may have been recruited let us say for the present not bonafide.