Allahabad High Court
Anil Verma & Ors. vs State Of U.P. Thru Prin.Secy. Gram ... on 10 March, 2021
Bench: Ritu Raj Awasthi, Manish Mathur
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
?Court No. - 1
Case :- MISC. BENCH No. - 17143 of 2020
Petitioner :- Anil Verma & Ors.
Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru Prin.Secy. Gram Vikas Deptt. & Ors.
Counsel for Petitioner :- Subodh Kumar Verma
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Ritu Raj Awasthi,J.
Hon'ble Manish Mathur,J.
Heard Mr. Subodh Kumar Verma counsel for petitioners as well as learned Standing Counsel appearing for opposite parties.
Writ petition has been filed seeking a writ of mandamus commanding the opposite parties to extend benefit of judgment and order dated 2.7.2018 passed in writ petition No. 12171 (M/B) of 2013 (Hardev Singh & others versus state of U.P. and others) as the petitioners are similarly situated and the instant writ petition involves the same facts and legal issues. It is submitted that petitioners had worked under the MNREGA Scheme-2011 similarly as the petitioners of that writ petition and they were not paid their due wages. This court in the case of Hardev Singh and others (supra) vide order dated 30.11.2017 had directed the opposite parties to ensure the release of fund and payment of the wages to the petitioners at the earliest. The ordr dated 30.11.2017 passed in the case of Hardev Singh and others (supra) is reproduced below:-
" Heard learned counsel for the parties.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners are daily labours worked in the scheme of MNREGA. Their names were mentioned in the muster roll in mini canal of Kodra Miner, Bharatpur Miner, Pilkhawana Miner, Sarangpur Miner, Maurapara, Miner and Main Branch Sharda Sahayak Faizabad in the year 2011 but admittedly payment has not been made. It is very surprising that in respect of work taken from the petitioners in the scheme of 2011 and inspite of recommendation of Government vide letter dated 22.8.2013 for sanction and release of the fund for a sum of Rs.39.06 lakhs, the fund could not be released.
The respondent no.1 Principal Secretary, Gram Vikash Department, Civil Secretariat, Lucknow and Principle Secretary, Irrigation and Finance and State of U.P. Lucknow shall ensure the release of fund and payment of the amount to the petitioners at the earliest, preferably within one month or to show cause why the action be not taken against them.
List on 5.1.2018.
Let a copy of this order be supplied to the learned Standing Counsel for follow up action."
It is also submitted that subsequently vide order dated 2.7.2018 the writ petition of Hardev Singh and others (supra) was disposed of with certain directions. The order dated 2.7.2018 passed in writ petition No. 12171 (M/B) of 2013 (Hardev Singh & others versus state of U.P. and others) is reproduced below:-
"This is an application seeking exemption from personal appearance of the Principal Secretary, Rural Development Department, Principal Secretary, Irrigation Department and Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of U.P.
Heard Sri Ramesh Pandey, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the applicants and Sri Saurabh Lavania, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners.
Since the order of this Court has been complied with and the payment to the petitioners has also been made, we allow this application.
We may further observe that in view of the subsequent developments to the effect that the payment to the petitioners of their wages has already been made, there is no point in keeping this writ petition pending any further.
The petition is, thus, disposed of finally.
However, before parting with this case, we may observe that the payment of wages under the MNREGA scheme due to the petitioners since the year 2010-11 has been made in the month of July, 2018, that too only on the intervention of this Court. As is well known, the labourers engaged in the MNREGA belong to weaker sections of society and it is a beneficial scheme for these sections of the society, which has been launched to ensure that their condition of living can be improved. In fact, the labourers engaged in the MNREGA scheme who are last men in the quaque about whom the entire society including the executive should make endeavour to make sure that they get their dues as promptly as possible.
Considering the fact that in this case, the wages due to the petitioners has been made only after lapse of period of seven long years, for which we find no plausible explanation, we direct the Principal Secretary/ Additional Chief Secretary, Government of U.P. in the Department of Rural Development to conduct an inquiry and find out as to who are the officers responsible for such a delayed payment to the petitioners. Once such an inquiry is conducted, the appropriate action would ensue against the officers found erring, which may be warranted under law."
Learned Standing Counsel appearing for opposite parties was required to seek instructions as to whether the case of the petitioners are similarly placed as those of Hardev singh and others (supra) and whether the petitioners can be granted benefit of the judgment passed in the case of Hardev singh and others (supra). Learned Standing Counsel on the basis of instructions submit that the case of the petitioners is similarly situated as those of petitioners in the writ petition No. 12171 (M/B) of 2013 (Hardev Singh & others versus state of U.P. and others) in which orders have been passed by this court as noted above.
In view of above, this writ petition is finally disposed of in terms of the judgment and orders passed in writ petition No. 12171 (M/B) of 2013(Hardev Singh & others versus state of U.P. and others) which have been noted above. The petitioner shall be entitled to get the due wages and the opposite parties shall ensure the payment of the wages of the petitioners at the earliest preferably within two months from the date of production of certified copy of this order.
Order Date :- 10.3.2021
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