TISCO 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 29.82005 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 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. Since the work load is more, the different Trade Unions requested the Central Government to increase the number of posts of Assistant Labour Commissioners, but to the shock and surprise of the petitioner Union, two officers have been shifted to another region by the letters dated 29.8.2005 and 21.9.2005 whereby two Assistant Labour Commissioners, namely, Shri K.C Sethi and Ajay Kumar were transferred to other regions. Several petitions have been sent to the authorities by the petitioner as well as by the Member of Parliament of the area requesting the concerned Ministry not to shift those officer and not to abolish the two posts as the work load is very heavy in Dhanbad region. Since there was no response, this public interest litigation has been resorted to by the petitioner.

(3.) WE have carefully considered the submissions made by the learned Counsel for the petitioner as well as by the learned Counsel for the respondents.