TMI Blog2014 (2) TMI 1307X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... absorbed as Marine Assistant Radio Operator nothing prevented the High Court from issuing a specific direction to create supernumerary posts of Marine Assistant Radio Operator. The same was not done. If that be so, the direction to create supernumerary posts at the stage of exercise of the contempt jurisdiction has to be understood to be an addition to the initial order passed in the Writ Petition. The argument that such a direction is implicit in the order dated 02.08.2006 is self defeating. Neither, is such a course of action open to balance the equities, i.e. not to foreclose the promotional avenues of the petitioners, as vehemently urged by Shri Rao. The issue is one of jurisdiction and not of justification. - C.A. 1816 Of 2014, Special Leave Petition (C) NO.23272 OF 2012 - - - Dated:- 4-2-2014 - Sathasivam P , Gogoi Ranjan And Singhshiva Kirti, JJ. JUDGMENT Ranjan Gogoi, 1.Leave granted. 2.Aggrieved by a direction of the Madras High Court in exercise of its contempt jurisdiction to create supernumerary posts, this appeal has been filed by the respondents in the contempt proceeding. 3.Shorn off unnecessary details the core facts that would need a re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this Court in the special leave petition the respondents herein were absorbed as Junior Helpers with effect from 29.1.1997 by an order dated 2.4.1998. Their pay was fixed at the bottom of the basic pay of Class IV employees of the Corporation. It may be noticed, at this stage, that the respondents being employees of the Southern Region of the Corporation were posted at Karaikal and Rajamundry stations. 6.It appears that thereafter a Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Petroleum Natural Gas which recommended that the Corporation is bound to absorb all the contract Radio Operators who had the requisite qualification in the post of Marine Assistant Radio Operators with effect from 8.9.1994 and in the pay scale applicable to the said post as on 8.9.1994. 7.As the aforesaid recommendation of the Committee was not being given effect to, the present respondents instituted another proceeding before the High Court i.e. Writ Petition No. 21518 of 2000 seeking a direction for their absorption as Marine Assistant Radio Operators with effect from 8.9.1994. Specifically, it must be taken note of that in the aforesaid writ proceeding the Corporation had, inter alia, contende ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al No. 1290 of 2006 which was dismissed on 19.12.2006 with a direction to the Corporation to implement the order of the learned Single Judge dated 2.8.2006 within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. Two other writ petitions i.e. W.P. Nos. 27500 of 2006 and 27529 of 2006 seeking similar relief(s) were also allowed by a separate order of the learned Single Judge dated 4.4.2007. The aforesaid orders were challenged before this Court in Civil Appeal Nos. 765 of 2008 and 766-767 of 2008 which were heard alongwith Transfer Petition (C) No. 889 of 2007 which was filed by similarly situated persons. By order dated 30.10.2009 all the civil appeals and the transfer petition were dismissed by this Court with the following directions : We have heard the learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the parties. Learned counsel appearing for the parties have taken us to various documents and pleadings. On consideration of the totality of the facts and circumstances of this case, in our opinion, no case has been made out for our interference under our extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. These appeals are accordingl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mpt Petition belong) and, no vacancy in the post of Assistant Marine Radio Operator in the Southern Region has arisen after the order and judgment dated 2.8.2006 of the Ld. Single Judge in Writ Petition No. 21518 of 2000, the respondents in the said Appeal could not be accommodated in the post of Assistant Marine Radio Operator. Consequently, until such vacancies arise and, in accordance with the direction issued by the Ld. Single Judge of the High Court (and upheld by this Hon ble Court), Respondent No. 1took the following steps : (i)deployed the respondents in Civil Appeal No. 765/2008, who formed a separate protected class, as Supernumerary Helpers in the scale of pay applicable to Assistant Marine Radio Operators, so that they are not rendered idle. (ii)gave pay protection to the said respondents for the pay drawn by Assistant Marine Radio Operator from the date of their absorption, i.e. 08.09.1994. (iii)paid them the difference between the protected pay and the pay previously drawn by them as Junior Helpers from the date of their absorption on 08.09.1994. 7. I say that even as on date there is no vacancy in the post of Assistant Marine Radio Operator (Southern ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... spondents and thereafter giving them protection/parity of pay in terms of the option granted by the High Court. The learned Attorney has further submitted that there being no direction for creation of posts of Marine Assistant Radio Operators in the order dated 2.8.2006 it was beyond the power of the learned Judge, hearing the Contempt Petition, to issue such a direction. The said error, being apparent, ought to have been corrected in the appeal filed before the High Court. The order of the Division Bench dated 11.7.2012 impugned in the present appeal is, therefore, open to interference in the present appeal. 14.On the other hand Shri P.P. Rao, learned senior counsel appearing for the respondents has contended that an obligation to create supernumerary posts of Marine Assistant Radio Operator is mandated by the very terms of the Order dated 02.08.2006 passed in Writ Petition No. 21518 of 2000. Shri Rao has contended that when supernumerary posts of Junior Helpers have been created and parity of pay with the higher post has been granted it is difficult to conceive why supernumerary posts of Marine Assistant Radio Operator were not created in order to fully comply with the Order ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... red. Courts must also ensure that while considering a contempt plea the power available to the Court in other corrective jurisdictions like review or appeal is not trenched upon. No order or direction supplemental to what has been already expressed should be issued by the Court while exercising jurisdiction in the domain of the contempt law; such an exercise is more appropriate in other jurisdictions vested in the Court, as noticed above. The above principles would appear to be the cumulative outcome of the precedents cited at the bar, namely, Jhareswar Prasad Paul and Another vs. Tarak Nath Ganguly and Others (2002) 5 SCC 352), V.M.Manohar Prasad vs. N.Ratnam Raju and Another (2004) 13 SCC 610), Bihar Finance Service House Construction Cooperative Society Ltd. vs. Gautam Goswami and Others (2008) 5 SCC 339) and Union of India and Others vs. Subedar Devassy PV (2006) 1 SCC 613) 16.Applying the above settled principles to the case before us, it is clear that the direction of the High Court for creation of supernumerary posts of Marine Assistant Radio Operator cannot be countenanced. Not only the Courts must act with utmost restraint before compelling the executive to create addit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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