KHUSHI MANDAL Vs. MS CENTRAL COALFIELDS LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the instant writ petition for a direction upon the respondents to consider his application for employment on compassionate ground to his dependent under the provisions of Clause 9:3:0 of National Coal Wage Agreement VII (hereinafter referred as N.C.W.A.) and other relevant provisions as the petitioner has become unfit to perform his duty.

(2.) The factual exposition, as has been delineated in this writ application is that the petitioner was posted as Head Security Guard in Giridih Project of the respondent. He was to superannuate on 31.05.2016. Due to ill health, the petitioner could not perform his duty for long time and as such was not getting any salary during this period. He was suffering from various disease and also lost his eye sight. The petitioner made application under the relevant provisions of N.C.W.A. for declaring him unfit and for compassionate employment to his dependent. The applications were received on 21.07.2014 and a Medical Board was constituted under the provisions of Clause 9:4:0 of N.C.W.A. and the petitioner and other candidates were directed to appear vide letter dated 05.07.2015. It is also stated that an absentee report was submitted which disclosed that the petitioner could not attend his duties properly and regularly since long. In view of the office order dated 23.07.2015 issued by the respondent no.4, it was informed that the Medical Board had declared the petitioner and others to be fit to join their duties and accordingly the petitioner was also directed to resume his duties. The petitioner being unsatisfied with the report of the Medical Board, made an appeal before the respondent no.4 on 27.07.2015 with a prayer to constitute Appellate Medical Board under the relevant provisions of N.C.W.A. It was the case of the petitioner that he was suffering from Cataract and had undergone heart surgery for fixing Pace Maker at Gandhi Nagar Hospital, Ranchi where he is still under treatment but till date when no action was taken, the petitioner made a representation to the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of respondent no.1 on 11.01.2016 but no orders were passed though the respondent authorities were aware of the fact that the petitioner will superannuate on 31.05.2016. Hence, this writ petition.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. A.K. Singh argues that the petitioner was suffering from various disease of vision problem and he was operated for Cataract and undergone for heart surgery and as such his case ought to have been considered by the respondent authorities. Learned counsel for the petitioner further argued that though his case was rejected by the Medical Board without consideration of the contention raised in his representation, the petitioner preferred an appeal with a prayer for consideration of Apex Medical Board and at the same time when no orders were passed, the petitioner also preferred representation before the Chairman-cum-Managing Director who had sat tight over the matter and passed no orders though the respondent authorities were aware of the fact that the petitioner is going to superannuate on 31.05.2016 and as such non-consideration of the case of the petitioner and passing no orders on the representation amounts to violation of principle of natural justice and also violation of the guidelines of N.C.W.A. Learned counsel further submits that the action of the respondent are illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 16, 19(i)(g) of the Constitution of India. A supplementary affidavit is also on the record which shows that the case of the petitioner was referred to Disha Eye Hospital, Kolkata by the Central Medical Board under the provisions of Clause 9:4:0 of N.C.W.A. as he cannot see after surgery done by the doctors of Company's Hospital.