Siratam Karmakar & Ors vs G. E. Power India Limited & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 362 Cal

February 08, 2022
    ARDR

   (17)                                  WPA 20927 of 2021

                                     Siratam Karmakar & ors.
                                               Vs.
                                 G. E. Power India Limited & Ors.

                    Mr. D. N. Roy,
                    Mr. Sourav Halder,
                                                           ...for the petitioners.
                    Mr. Soumya Majumder,
                    Mr. Bhaskar Mukherjee,
                    Ms. Debjani Ghosh,
                                                      ...for the respondent no.1.

Mr. Sharanya Chatterjee, Mr. Nepesh Majhi, ...for the respondent no.5.

Mr. Chandi Charan De, Ms. Reshmi Rehman, ...for the State.

The contention of the petitioners, in a nutshell, is

that they are retired employees of the respondent no.1 and

were allotted residential quarters by the company while in

service. Following superannuation of the petitioners, the

company filed an eviction case under Section 452 of the

Companies Act, 2013 against the petitioners before the

learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Durgapur

and by an order dated 17th April, 2019, the learned

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate dismissed the

application of the company and the trial before the Court

is still pending. Against the said dismissal, the company

moved before this Court in Criminal Revision and by a

judgment dated 17th June, 2020 in CRR 2589 of 2019 a

coordinate Bench of this Court granted one year's time to

the opposite parties therein for vacating the quarters in

question. The Court also granted liberty to the company to

invoke the provisions of law for giving effect to the order in

the event the quarters was not vacated by the opposite

parties within the stipulated period of time. The opposite

party Sitaram Karmakar filed a Special Leave Petition

before the Hon'ble Supreme Court against the said order

and by an order dated 8th October, 2021 the Hon'ble

Supreme Court refused to interfere with the judgment

passed by this Court.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the

earlier revisional application was with regard to eviction of

the petitioners from the property in question whereas the

petitioners in the present writ petition seek permanent

allotment of the quarters in their favour by the company.

Referring to the judgments passed by the coordinate

Bench of this Court as well as by the Hon'ble Supreme

Court, learned counsel for the first respondent submits

that the present writ petition is only an abuse of the

process of law as identical issue has been decided by the

coordinate Bench and has been affirmed by the Hon'ble

Supreme Court. As such, the present writ petition is

barred by the principles of res judicata.

It is submitted by learned counsel for the fifth

respondent that there have been several communications

between the first and the fifth respondent with regard to a

proposal initiated by the company to return certain

quantum of land to be allotted for settlement of their

employees.

It is a fact that the case before the learned

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate is under Section 452

of the Companies Act, 2013 for eviction of the petitioners

from the quarters in question whereas, the petitioners in

this writ petition, have prayed for permanent allotment of

said quarters in their favour. The issue of occupation of

the quarters by the writ petitioners has been discussed at

length and decided in CRR 2589 of 2019 and the writ

petitioners who were the opposite parties therein were

granted breathing time for one year from the date of the

order to vacate the premises in question.

The issue in the revisional application as well as the

present writ petition is identical. In the revisional

application, the writ petitioners were directed to vacate the

quarters in question on or before 30 th June, 2021. The

Hon'ble Supreme Court has affirmed the said order of the

coordinate Bench of this Court by an order dated 8 th

October, 2021. In my considered view, the issue with

regard to retention of the quarters in question by the

petitioners being finally decided in the revisional

application, the same issue as raised in the present writ

petition cannot be entertained, being barred by the

principles of res judicata.

It is trite law that principles of res judicata applies to

applications under Article 226 of the Constitution of India

and in view of identical facts in issue being decided earlier

by a coordinate Bench of this Court, the present writ

petition is barred by the principles of res judicata.

Consequentially, the writ petitioners are not entitled to

any relief in the present writ petition and as such, the writ

petition being WPA 20927 of 2021 is liable to be

dismissed.

Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. However,

there shall be no order as to costs.

Since no affidavit is invited, the allegations contained in

the petition are deemed not to be admitted.

Urgent certified website copy of this order, if applied

for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all

requisite formalities.

(Suvra Ghosh, J.)