Gopi Nath Pal vs Webel Electro-Optics Limited & ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 5896 Cal

                   IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                  CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
                          APPELLATE SIDE
25.08.2022
Item No. 11
Court No.23
 (Suvendu)
                              CAN 2 of 2022
                                   In
                             WPA 28682 of 2017

                                Gopi Nath Pal
                                      Vs.
                        Webel Electro-Optics Limited & Ors.


               Mr. Arabinda Chatterjee
               Mr. Bhaskar Nandi
                      ...............for the applicants /petitioners


               Mr. Soumya Majumdar
               Mr. Victor Chatterjee
                            ........for the respondent nos. 4 & 5

In re. CAN 2 of 2022

This is an application filed by the writ petitioner

for recalling of the order dated 16th June, 2022. The

operative portion of the said order is set out

hereunder for convenience.

"The initial proceedings before this Court was a writ petition challenging the Award passed by the Labour Court under the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The said writ petition, therefor, was one under Group -III. The order passed in the said writ petition was challenged before the Division Bench wherein an order was passed on 11th May, 2017. This writ petition appears to be for implementation of the findings in

the order dated 11th May, 2017. The matter, therefor, pertains to Group -III.

This Bench does not have the determination to take up the writ petition under Group -III. Accordingly, the writ petition is released from this Bench."

It is submitted by the petitioner that the

respondent no. 1 namely, Webel Electro-Optics

Limited at the time when the first writ petition was

filed was a private company and as such the

petitioner as a workman has raised an industrial

dispute under the provisions of the Industrial

Disputes Act, 1947. The initial writ petition was

filed in connection with the Award passed by the

Labour Court under the 1947 Act and as such was a

Group -III matter. Against the order passed in the

initial writ petition an appeal was preferred before

this Court. The appeal court directed issuance of an

appointment letter by a judgment and order dated

11th May, 2017 passed in APO 249 of 2016. At the

time when the letter of appointment was issued to

the petitioner on 21st June, 2017, Webel Electro-

Optics Limited, the respondent no. 1, had become a

Government of West Bengal undertaking.

The petitioner says that in terms of the letter of

appointment dated 21st June, 2017 the provisions of

the West Bengal Services (Revision of Pay and

Allowance) Rules, 2009 (in short, ROPA 2009) is

applicable to the petitioner. The petitioner has

sought for implementation of the provisions of ROPA

2019 in the writ petition against the respondent no.

1 which is admittedly a State Government

undertaking at present.

The matter, therefor, is a service matter and falls

under Group -VI and not a labour matter under

Group -III as held in the order dated 16 th June,

2022. The change in the character of the

respondent no. 1 subsequent to raising the

industrial dispute under the 1947 Act and the

proceedings before this Court in connection thereto

were not pointed out to this Court at the time when

the order dated 16th June, 2022 was passed.

After hearing the petitioner and considering the

materials on record, I find that the argument

advanced by the petitioner in respect of the matter

to be treated as one under Group -VI and not one

under Group - III is of substance.

The respondents have fairly submitted that they

have no objection if the matter is treated as one

under Group -VI and to be tried by the Bench

having determination in respect of Group -VI

matters.

In the aforesaid circumstances, the order dated

16th June, 2022 is recalled.

Let this writ petition be treated as one under

Group -VI. Since the writ petition was appearing in

the list prior to passing of the order dated 16 th June,

2022, let this writ petition appear under the heading

"Hearing" in the Monthly List of September, 2022.

Nothing further remains to be decided in CAN 2

of 2022 and the same is accordingly disposed of.

Since no affidavit-in-opposition is called for in

the application being CAN 2 of 2022, the allegations

contained in the same are deemed to be not

admitted.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be given to the parties on usual

undertakings.

(Arindam Mukherjee, J.)