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2005 DIGILAW 53 (GAU)

Hemraj v. Union of India and Ors.

2005-01-20

T.NANDA KUMAR SINGH

body2005
1. Heard Mr. M. Gourahari Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the writ petitioner. 2. By this writ petition the petitioner is seeking for a direction to the respondents for payment of T.T.A. & D.A. amounting to Rs.15,000/- and back wages for the intervene period of the petitioner and also for a direction to give back wages of Rs.62,298/- for the months from August,1997 to 24th January,1999. 3. The case of the petitioner is that he is a permanent resident of Agarbalian, Reasi, District Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir and he is also an employee of Rashtria Pariyojna Nirman Nigam Ltd. (for short RPNN Ltd.) in English “National Project Construction Corporation Ltd.( for short NPCC Ltd.). While the petitioner was working as Operator-cum-Driver at Salal Unit, Bidda Reasi, District, Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir State of the NPCC Ltd., he was served with an office order being No.113614/1725 dated 3.8.1997 to the effect that consequence upon his transfer from Salal Unit to Dolaithabi Barrage Unit , Manipur vide Corporation Office order No.501079/IUT/96/141 dated 31.12.1996, he was hereby stand relieved from Salal Unit of NPCC Ltd. on the afternoon of 13.8.1997 and the petitioner was directed to report for duty to the Unit Office of NPCC Ltd., Dolaithabi, Manipur and he was allowed transfer benefits as admissible under the Rules. The further case of the petitioner is that at the relevant time, i.e. in the Month of August, 1997, he was not paid the wages for the period from August, 1996 to July, 1997 and therefore, he was very much in financial problem. On 8.8.1997, the petitioner approached the Unit Officer, NPCC Ltd., Salal Unit, Bidda, Reasi by filing an application dated 8.8.197 (Annexure-A/3 to the writ petition) stating that he is facing a lot of financial problem due to non-payment of wages from the month of August,1996, and therefore, necessary arrangement may kindly be made for payment of his wages for the period from the Month of August, 1996 to July, 1997 and T.T. as early as possible so that he can clear the loan from shopkeepers and other persons and so as to enable him to join his new place of posting. Therefore, the clear case of the petitioner is that due to non-payment of his back wages for the period from the month of August, 1996 to July,1997 and also non-payment of advance pay and T.T.A. & D.A., he could not go to his new place of posting at Dolaithabi Barrage Unit of NPCC Ltd., Imphal,Manipur. The writ petitioner had no alternative but to approach the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir by filing a writ petition being S.W.P. No.1182 of 1997 against the respondents for challenging the said transfer order. The Hon'ble High Court of J & K passed an interim order dated 13.8.1997 to the effect that the respondents are directed that unpaid salary shall be paid to the petitioner within a period of 2(two) weeks. The said S.W.P. No.1182 of 1997 was finally disposed of by the Hon'ble High Court of J & K by passing the final order dated 29.12.1997 to the effect that “ as far as the release of back wages of the petitioners is concerned, the objector boldly stated that the petitioners will get all the wages as and when they join their places of postings. I am told that 15 out of 18 worken have already joined and 3 petitioners are hanging in the medio by virtue of court directions. Accordingly, I find no merit in the petition. The same is dismissed. The interim directions issued on 13.8.1997 are vacated, however, as undertaken, as and when the petitioners join their places of postings, their back wages be released without any delay.” The petitioner, however, states that after the said order of the Hon'ble High Court of J & K dated 29.12.1997 (Annexure-A/5 to the writ petition), he approached the Chairman, NPCC Ltd., Head Office 67-68 Sector-25, Faridabad, Harayana by filing an application dated 11.4.1998 (Annexure-A/8 to the writ petition) to take necessary action to release advance TA and Disciplinary Authority in his favour as early as possible so that he can join at his new place of posting. He, further, submits that he has also filed number of applications to the Chairman, Dy. General Manager/ Unit Officer for releasing his advance TA & D.A for two months so as to enable him to join his new place of posting. He, further, submits that he has also filed number of applications to the Chairman, Dy. General Manager/ Unit Officer for releasing his advance TA & D.A for two months so as to enable him to join his new place of posting. In his application dated 12.1.1998 (Annexure-A/6 to the writ petition) written to the Unit Officer, NPCC Power House Unit, Bidda (Pawa Puram), he had requested for payment of advance T.A. & D.A. and pay for two months so that he may be able to join his new place of posting, i.e. at Dolaithabi Barrage Unit of NPCC Ltd., Imphal, Manipur. On 24.1.1999, after selling his immovable property to one Nazib Chand. After he joined his new place of posting, the petitioner had been paid his back wages for the period from August, 1996 to July, 1997, but the respondents neither paid advance T.A. & D.A. and advance pay for two months nor his wages for the period from August, 1997 to 24.1.1999, and hence he filed this writ petition. 4. In the present writ petition the respondents have also filed their affidavit-in-opposition and the only plea taken by the respondents in their affidavit-in-opposition is that the full back wages for the period from October, 1996 to July, 1997, though the petitioner joined his new place of posting at Dolaithabi, could not be paid due to acute shortage of fund of NPCC Ltd ,. As regards the back wages for the period from August, 1997 to January, 1999, the petitioner could not be paid his wages as he did not render any service to the Corporation during the said period, but he will be paid for the said period after adjustment of his leave account for which he has to apply to the concerned authority for the same. The learned counsel for the petitioner could not place the Service Rules of the Employees of the NPCC Ltd. Or the Rules of the NPCC Ltd. before this court. Over and above, counsel for the respondents does not appear before this court at the time of hearing of this writ petition. Therefore, this court is really handicapped in deciding the present writ petition. However, the present writ petition is considered for final disposal by taking the help of General Rules applicable to the Government servants. Over and above, counsel for the respondents does not appear before this court at the time of hearing of this writ petition. Therefore, this court is really handicapped in deciding the present writ petition. However, the present writ petition is considered for final disposal by taking the help of General Rules applicable to the Government servants. Under the CCS (Joining Time) Rules, 1979, joining time of a government servant is regarded as duty and pay equal to the pay drawn before relinquishment of charge in the old post is admissible and he will be entitled to D.A., if any, appropriate to the joining time pay. In addition, he can also draw Compensatory Allowances, like City Compensatory Allowances, House Rent Allowances as payable to the old station from which he was transferred. In the present case, since the petitioner had been transferred from one State to another State, he will be entitled to joining time pay at the maximum limit of 30 days. At the same time, the employer, i.e. the NPCC Ltd., has to make necessary arrangement for the payment of joining pay mentioned above so as to enable the writ petitioner to join his new place of posting at Dolaithabi Barrage Unit of NPCC Ltd. at Imphal, Manipur. Under Rule 223 of the General Financial Rules, 1963, the amount of advance which may be sanctioned to a government servant shall not exceed - two months' pay in case of a government servant in an office, the headquarter of which is shifted as a result of the government policy, and in addition to the said amount of T.A. to which he, i.e. the government servant, may be entitled any consequence of his transfer. In the present case, in spite of the said representation/applications filed by the writ petitioner to the concerned authorities of the NPCC Ltd. to pay T.T.A., D.A., joining time pay, etc. for enabling him to join his new place of posting at Dolaithabi Barrage Unit of NPCC Ltd., Imphal, Manipur from his old posting, i.e. Salal Unit of Jammu & Kashmir, the respondents neither paid the said amounts nor paid his back wages for the period from August, 1996 to July, 1997 and as a result thereof, the writ petitioner could not join his new place of posting at Dolaithabi Barrage Unit on time. Such being the situation, the respondents are also equally responsible for not joining the new place of posting by the present writ petitioner for a long period from August, 1997 to 24th January, 1999. Such being the situation, the respondents are directed to dispose of the respondent dated 12.1.1998, filed to the Unit Officer, NPCC Power House Unit Bidda (Pawa Puram), representation dated 11.4.1998 filed to the Chairman, NPCC, Head Office 67-68, Sector-25, Faridabad (Haryana) and application dated 22.12.1999 filed to the Unit Officer, NPCC Ltd., Salal P.H. Unit/T.R.T.Unit by the present writ petitioner, favourably within a period of 3(three) months from the date of receipt of this judgment and order by passing reasoned order. 5. With the above observations and directions this writ petition is disposed of. No costs. W.P (C) No.1559 of 2003 T. Nanda Kumar Singh, J. Date of Decision : 19.01.2005 Heard Mr. Ch. Joychandra Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. R.S. Reisang, learned G.A. The simple case of the petitioner is that her father also expired on 20.4.1982 prior to the death of her mother. The petitioner's mother, Smt. (L) Lalramhiluni was serving as Draftsman-III in the office of the Executive Engineer, Khuga Head Works Division, Irrigation and Flood Control Division (for short IFCD), Manipur and while her mother was serving as Draftsman-III in the IFCD, Manipur, she died in harness on 19.4.2001 leaving behind only the present petitioner as her sole legal heir. The petitioner also solely depended on the earnings of her mother and on the death of her mother, the petitioner is now in a very pitiable financial condition and the petitioner's educational qualification is also Matriculate and because of her financial condition, she filed an application on 15.5.2001(Annexure-A/3 to the writ petition) to the competent authority for appointment on compassionate ground under the die-in harness scheme prepared by the Govt. of Manipur within the stipulated period of filing such application. The further, case of the petitioner is that the case of her appointment is covered by the Office Memorandum dated 13.1.1999 (Annexure-A/1(A) to the writ petition) which is an amendment of the office memorandum dated 1.12.95 and 2.7.96. Such being the situation, the writ petition is disposed of with the direction to the respondents to consider the case of the petitioner for appointment on compassionate ground under the die-in harness scheme prepared by the Govt. Such being the situation, the writ petition is disposed of with the direction to the respondents to consider the case of the petitioner for appointment on compassionate ground under the die-in harness scheme prepared by the Govt. of Manipur subject to the eligibility and other criteria for appointment under the die-in harness scheme as per turn maintained by the concerned department preferably within a period of six months.. The writ petition is disposed of. No costs. W.P.(C ) No. 486 OF 2004 T. Nanda Kumar Singh. J. Date of Decision : 19.01.2005 1. Heard Mr. Kh.Tarunkumar Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Md. Jalal Uddin, learned G.A.appearing on behalf of respondents 1,2,3 and 4 as well as Mr. C. Kamal Singh, learned Sr.CGSC appearing on behalf of respondent no.5. 2 The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner was temporarily appointed as Teacher in the Govt. School vide order of the Director of Education, Govt. of Manipur dated 18.5.1965 (Annexure - A/1 to the writ petition), and after serving for a number of years as Teacher, he was promoted to the post of Headmaster on regular basis on the recommendation of Class-III DPC held on 25.11.2002 vide orders of the Director of Education(S), Govt. of Manipur being No.46/32/2000-ED(V), dated, Imphal, the 6th February, 2003 (Annexure-A/3 to the writ petition). Subsequently, the petitioner retired on superannuation vide order of the Director of Education (S), Govt. of Manipur being No.46/10/93-ED(V), dated Imphal, the 3rd November, 2003 with effect from 31.10.2003 (Annexure-A/3 to the writ petition). By this writ petition, the writ petitioner is seeking a relief for a direction to the respondents to pay the service pension and other pensionary benefits to the petitioner as Headmaster. It has been clearly mentioned that the Sr. Accounts Officer(Pension) of the Office of the Sr. Dy. Accountant General (A&E), Manipur, Imphal under his letter dated 25.3.2004 (Annexure-A/6 to the writ petition) made some query about the services of the writ petitioner as Headmaster in the Schools of the Govt. of Manipur to the Zonal Education Officer, Zone-III, Thoubal, Govt. of Manipur. In reply to the said letter of the Sr. Accounts Officer (Pension) dated 25.3.2004, the Zonal Education Officer, Zone-III, Thoubal under his letter dated 8.4.2004 (Annexure-A/7 to the writ petition) had already furnished all the necessary documents and information to the Office of the Senior Dy. Accountant General(A&E), Govt. of Manipur. In reply to the said letter of the Sr. Accounts Officer (Pension) dated 25.3.2004, the Zonal Education Officer, Zone-III, Thoubal under his letter dated 8.4.2004 (Annexure-A/7 to the writ petition) had already furnished all the necessary documents and information to the Office of the Senior Dy. Accountant General(A&E), Govt. of Manipur. And as such the writ petitioner submits that even after furnishing all the required documents and information to the office of the Accountant General(A&E), Impha, Manipur, the office of the Accountant General, Manipur has not yet finalized the pension papers of the petitioner, but the respondent no.5, i.e. the Accountant General(A&E), Imphal, Manipur, in his affidavit-in-opposition mentioned that the Govt. of Manipur has not yet furnished required documents and information in pursuance of the letter of the Sr. Accounts Officer(Pension) of the Office of the Dy. Accountant General(A&E), Imphal, Manipur dated 24.9.2004 to the Commissioner of Education (S), Govt. of Manipur (Annexure-X/2 to the affidavit-in-opposition of respondent no.5). 3. From bare perusal of the records and hearing the submissions advanced by the learned counsel of both the parties, it appears that the petitioner is suffering only because of the number of correspondences between the State respondents and the office of the Accountant General, Manipur, Imphal. Mr.C. Kamal Singh, learned Sr. CGSC submits that the Office of the Accountant General, Manipur, Imphal shall finalize the pension papers of the petitioner as soon as the Govt. of Manipur furnished all the required documents and information in reply to the said letter of the Sr. Accounts Officer(Pension) of the Office of the Dy. Accounts Officer(A&E), Imphal, Manipur dated 24.9.2004 to the Commissioner of Education(S), Govt. of Manipur. It appears that the respondent Govt. has not yet furnished the said required document(s) and information required by the Office of the Accountant General(A&E), Imphal,Manipur. In such a situation, the writ petition is disposed of with the direction to the state respondents to furnish the said required document(s) and information mentioned in the said letter of the Sr. Accounts Officer(Pension), Office of the Sr. Dy. Accountant General(A&E), Imphal, Manipur dated 24.9.2004(Annexure-X/2 to the affidavit-in-opposition of the respondent no.5) within a period of 2(two) months from the date of receipt of this order. Accounts Officer(Pension), Office of the Sr. Dy. Accountant General(A&E), Imphal, Manipur dated 24.9.2004(Annexure-X/2 to the affidavit-in-opposition of the respondent no.5) within a period of 2(two) months from the date of receipt of this order. Further, respondent no.5, i.e. the Accountant General, Manipur, Imphal, is directed to finalise the pension papers of the present writ petitioner within a period of 3(three) weeks from the date of receipt of the necessary documents and information required by the Office of the Accountant General in their letter dated 24.9.2004. It is made clear that the respondents should complete the pension paper of the petitioner within a period of 3(three)months from the date of receipt of this order. 5. Needless to say that the writ petitioner shall also co-operate the respondents in finding out the required document(s) and information mentioned by the Office of the Accountant General, Manipur, Imphal. 6. With the above observations and directions, the present writ petition is disposed of. No costs. W.P.(C ) No. 894 of 2004 Date of Decision : T. Nanda Kumar Singh, J. Date of Decision : 19.01.2005 Heard Mr. K. Rabei Singh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner as well as Mr. R.S. Reisang, learned G.A. appearing for the respondents 1 and 2. The petitioner possesses all the technical as well as educational qualifications for appointment to the post of Lecturer(Tech) in the Govt. Polytechnic, Imphal. The government also has taken up necessary steps for holding DPC associated with the Manipur Public Service Commissioner(for short MPSC) in the month of August,2004, but the said DPC associated with the MPSC could not be held because of lack of quorum of the MPSC. In Rule No.16 of the Manipur Public Service Commission( Procedure and Conduct of Business) Rules, 2003, it has been clearly mentioned that the quorum of the meeting will be 2(two). At present, there is no member of the MPSC and such being the situation, the said DPC associated with the MPSC for appointment of the petitioner by absorption to the post of Lecturer(Technical) in the Govt. Polytechnic, Imphal cannot be held. Mr. R.S. Reisang, learned G.A. appearing for the government respondents submits that the some members are likely to be appointed very soon. Polytechnic, Imphal cannot be held. Mr. R.S. Reisang, learned G.A. appearing for the government respondents submits that the some members are likely to be appointed very soon. Such being the situation, this writ petition is disposed of with the direction to the respondents to hold the said DPC as soon as the quorum of the MPSC is available and consider the case of the petitioner according to the relevant rules. The writ petition is disposed of.