UNION OF INDIA Vs. MANZOOR AHMAD SHAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Letters Patent Appeal No. 227/ 96 is directed against the judgment of learned Single Judge passed in SWP No. 584/91 titled "Manzoor Ahmad Shah and others Vs. Union of India and others" dated 22.8.1996. By virtue of this judgment, the writ court has allowed the writ petition filed by the respondents and has issued a writ of mandamus directing the present appellants to give the same treatment to the present respondents from 27.3.1990 as has been given to the similarly situated employees of other Departments working under the Central Government in the Valley.

(2.) BRIEFLY put, the facts giving rise to the writ petition are that the petitioners are employees of Handicrafts Department, a unit of Central Government working under the Ministry of Textiles. It is averred that the other sister Departments working under different Ministries of the Central Government in Kashmir Valley, namely, Posts and Telegraphs, Ministry of Telecommunication, Ministry of Finance have been given certain perks by the Central Government. Admittedly, the valley is passing through abnormal situation due to militancy and especially in 1990 militancy was at its peak. It was very difficult for the employees of the Government to come to offices and to run the administration. So the Ministry of Telecommunication, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs etc. passed orders that the employees, who were deployed in the militancy hit valley, had opted to serve in the Valley and were not willing to move their families to a declared place of residence outside the valley, were given a per -diem allowance of Rs. 10/ - for each day of attendance to compensate them for any additional expenses on transport to and from they were incurring in coming to their offices. The above orders were to take effect from 27th March, 1990. This order was made applicable in the first instance for six months. On the basis of this order, employees of certain departments of the Central Government were allowed to receive Rs.10/ - as per -diem.

(3.) THE respondents, who are employees of the Handicrafts Department, were denied this incentive notwithstanding they too choiced not to remove their families from the Valley and have been performing the duties in the Valley like others in the same circumstances. Appellants, who were respondents before the writ -court, filed their counter and resisted this demand on the ground that this incentive was allowed only to those employees whose services were declared essential and important services. According to the appellants, the incentive was not given to all the employees of all the Departments of Central Government. However, the plea taken by the appellants did not find favour with the learned Single Judge who allowed the writ petition on the ground that all the employees of the Central or State Government are working in the militancy hit State in similar circumstances, so the petitioners also are entitled to such incentive. Hence this appeal.