IISCO KHADAN MAZDOOR SANGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition, as a Public Interest Litigation, has been filed by the IISCO Khadan Mazdoor Sangh, praying for the quashing of the order dated 29.8.2005 and 21.9.2005 issued by the Under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Labour and Employment shifting two officers working as Assistant Labour Commissioner from Dhanbad Region to another Region and seeking for the direction to the respondents not to abolish the said two posts of Assistant Labour Commissioner at Dhanbad.

(2.) ACCORDING to the learned Counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner is a Union, which has been indulging itself for betterment of the workmen under the IISCO and also for the interest of public at large. In 1947, the Office of the Regional Labour Commissioner was set up in Dhanbad Region and since then five Assistant Labour Commissioners have been working in the said Region. In Dhanbad Region, itself, there are more than 5 lakh workmen. Therefore, since 1947, Central Government has created 5 posts of Assistant Labour Commissioners and 1 post of Regional Labour Commissioner to dispose of the cases relating to labour dispute, gratuity cases, contract labour cases, minimum wages cases and also for implementation of the awards concerning the workmen working in the Bharat Coking Coal Limited and other companies.,

(3.) THE learned Counsel for the respondents, on the strength of the counter, would strenuously submit that the details given in the writ petition by the petitioner are not factually correct and the same were made to mislead the Court in order to stall the transfer of those officers from one area to another area. According to the respondents, the real reason for transfer of those officer is that at present the work load in Dhanbad Region has come down to around 30 -40 industrial disputes per Assistant Labour Commissioner and as such, the shortfall of work load was seriously reviewed by the Chief Labour Commissioner, who recommended for shifting of two officers on the post of Assistant Labour Commissioner from Dhanbad to another region where their services were most needed and consequently, the two officers have been transferred one for Kanpur region and other for Ajmer region vide office orders and there is no proposal for the abolition of the posts, and as such the Public Interest Litigation is not maintainable.