TMI Blog2019 (1) TMI 1995X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e circular dated 07.04.2015 which contemplates that the workmen shall be reinstated as per the seniority list as and when requirement in future arises. The Order of the Court cannot be interpreted on the basis of the impressions which may be drawn by the petitioners, in view of the specific order passed by this Court on 07.09.2015. In the case of Surjit Singh [ 2009 (8) TMI 1270 - SUPREME COURT] , the question examined was in respect of applicability of the doctrine of equal pay for equal work . The respondents therein were appointed as daily wagers without following any recruitment process. The question of reinstatement in pursuance of Award of Labour Court was not the issue raised or decided. In an Industrial Dispute, the nature of engagement, whether on muster rolls, daily wages or ad-hoc basis is not the relevant consideration for an Award of reinstatement. The only question required to be examined is as to whether the workman has worked for 240 days in a preceding calendar year and as to whether the workman has been paid retrenchment compensation. The question of regularization or equal pay for equal work was not the dispute raised or examined by the Labour Court. The c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ) has engaged workmen in the category of Runner, Beldar and Lab Assistants prior to 1991. The services of the workmen engaged or appointed after 31.3.1989 were retrenched on 22 nd June, 1991 or so in terms of Section 6N of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (Act in short). The Writ Petition No. 5686 of 1991 challenging such order of termination was decided on 5.11.2009, when the following order was passed:- 3. Petitioners were engaged as daily wager in the U.P. Jal Nigam sometime in the year 1989 on various dates facing retrenchment of their services in pursuance to decision taken by the Board. U.P. Jal Nigam took a decision and had issued a circular that all the persons appointed after 31.8.1989 shall be retrenched after serving a month notice and payment of salary. Accordingly, in pursuance to decision taken by the Board petitioner's services have been terminated after payment of one month salary. Cut off date fixed by the Jal Nigam has been impugned in the present writ petition. 4. In a recent judgement reported in JT 2009 (9) SC 229, A.Manjula Bhashini and others Vs. The M.D., A.P. Women Coop. Finance Corp. Ltd. their Lordship of Hon'ble Supreme Court held th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he fact, all the petitioners are entitled for relief hence the present writ petition is also decided in terms of the order passed in writ petition no. 35846 of 1997 and 20921 of 1999. Accordingly, the impugned orders are hereby set aside. The respondents are directed to consider the claim of the petitioners in terms of the decision by this Court in aforesaid writ petitions. 6. The order in the Writ Petition No. 35846 of 1997, as mentioned in the above order, is of reinstatement but without back-wages. The relevant extract from the order dated 09.05.2011 reads as under:- Looking to the entire facts and circumstances, I am of the opinion that the requirement of law and justice will best be served by directing reinstatement but without any back wages. Let the petitioner be reinstated forthwith and be paid salary as is being paid to others. Impugned award is accordingly modified. 7. The Jal Nigam filed Special Leave Petition Nos. 4470/14, 4802/14, 16142/14, 16137/14 and 16139/14 against the common order of the learned Single Bench dated 9.10.2013. Special Leave Petition (C) Nos. 3542 of 2015 and 3540 of 2015 were against an order passed by the learned Single Bench of Allaha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... igam shall comply with the directions passed by the Hon ble High Court (reinstatement without back wages) in terms of office order dated 07.04.2015 and list contained therein. The fact of having prepared list of retrenched employees in terms of seniority was raised by the Nigam before this Hon ble Court for the first time in SLP (C) 5057 of 2014. It is important to mention that the authenticity of the names contained in the office order dated 07.04.2015 and list contained therein is not known to the Petitioners and the Petitioners have brought to the notice of this Hon ble Court. 10. In respect of an earlier Contempt Petition No. 309 of 2016, which was disposed of on 11.01.2017, it is again averred that the impression was given that Jal Nigam shall do the needful to comply with the order dated 07.09.2015. The extract from the written submissions reads as under: That again an impression was given to this Hon ble Court that the Respondent Nigam shall do the needful to comply with the order dated 07.09.2015 passed by this Court in S.L.P. (C) 5057 of 2014. The Respondent Nigam in gross defiance of the undertaking given before this Hon ble Court, deliberately and wilfully disobe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mployees in order of seniority after lapse of 27 years. In response to such advertisement, 32 employees have responded and have been appointed on 06.09.2018. It is also averred that there was paucity of work and also accumulated losses, therefore, retrenchment was affected in the year 1991. It is also stated that there was no undertaking or direction to re-engage the retrenched daily wagers and that the earlier Contempt Petitions having been dropped, therefore the present petitions do not merit any consideration as the order of this Court has been complied with. 15. In the written submissions filed by the counsel for the Jal Nigam, there is an assertion that there have been no vacancies for daily wages in the Jal Nigam since the order dated 07.04.2015 was passed and that in the absence of any such vacancies, no occasion to employ any of the retrenched employees arises and there is no wilful and deliberate disobedience by the respondents. 16. It is further stated that 550 posts in Group D posts are not for daily wagers / muster rolls and that Jal Nigam has not appointed any employee even in Group D post even for last five years because it is facing financial strains. It is als ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... daily wage basis as per office order dated 07.04.2015. The argument that they accepted the order under the impression that the workmen are being reinstated cannot be accepted as the order dated 07.09.2015 has been passed on the basis of the circular dated 07.04.2015 which contemplates that the workmen shall be reinstated as per the seniority list as and when requirement in future arises. The Order of the Court cannot be interpreted on the basis of the impressions which may be drawn by the petitioners, in view of the specific order passed by this Court on 07.09.2015. 21. The argument that 550 Group D posts are available against which petitioners may be appointed is not tenable. The Group D posts are required to be filled on the basis of qualifications prescribed for filling up of such posts in the Rules as may be applicable to make appointments to such posts. The petitioners, if eligible, can compete for such appointments. But merely they were once engaged on muster roll, they cannot have right to seek regular appointment against Group D posts dehors the eligibility conditions prescribed in the Rules. The regular appointment can be made keeping in view the principles of public a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r equal work was not the dispute raised or examined by the Labour Court. 24. Similarly, in Sabha Shanker Dube (supra), the Appellants were daily rated workers employed in Group D posts in the Forest Department in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The claim in the Writ Petitions was of regularization of their services and the payment of the minimum of the pay scales available to their counterparts working on regular posts and treating them as being in continued service while condoning the breaks in their service. For the reasons recorded above, even the issue raised in the said judgment is not helpful to the arguments raised by Mr. Bhushan, learned counsel for the petitioners. 25. Still further there is no direction in the order passed by this Court to reinstate the petitioners or to place them in minimum or regular pay scale. The contempt jurisdiction cannot be invoked on the basis of impressions, when the order of the Court does not contain any direction for reinstatement or for grant of regular pay scale. The contempt would be made out when there is wilful disobedience to the orders of this Court. Since the Order of this Court is not of reinstatement, the petitioners under the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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