Debashis Mukherjee vs The Union Of India & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 975 Cal

06.02.2023           IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
   ML-19            CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
   (PP)                   APPELLATE SIDE
   Ct.21
                           WPA 190 of 2023

                          Debashis Mukherjee
                                 Vs.
                        The Union of India & Ors.

                   Mr. Pratip Mukherjee,
                   Mr. Atarul Haque Molla,
                   Mr. Omar Faruk Gazi
                                           ....for the petitioner.
                   Mr. Biswaroop Bhattacharya,
                   Mr. Syed Nurul Arefin,
                   Mr. Rahul Singh
                                                     ....for ECL.


                  Affidavit of service filed in Court today is

             retained with the records.

                  Mr. Mukherjee, learned counsel, appears on

             behalf of the petitioner and prays for stay of the

             departmental proceedings initiated by charge-sheets

             dated June 7, 2022 and August 2, 2022.             The

             petitioner is employed as a Supervisor with the

             Eastern Coalfields Limited (in short "ECL").     By a

             charge-sheet dated June 7, 2022, the petitioner was,

             inter alia, alleged to have committed misconduct due

             to misappropriation in relation to illegal coal mining.

             The petitioner was suspended on July 23, 2022.

             Thereafter, the petitioner was again charge-sheeted

             on August 2, 2022. A letter of suspension was issued

             on August 4, 2022.
                        2




     Attention of this Court is drawn to the contents

of the First Information Report (FIR) lodged on

November 27, 2020. The petitioner was suspected of

the offence of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of

trust by public servant and criminal misconduct by a

public servant due to dishonestly and fraudulently

misappropriating the property entrusted to him or

any other property under his control as a public

servant.

     Mr. Bhattacharya, learned counsel, appearing on

behalf     of   the   respondents/ECL   challenges   the

maintainability of the writ petition on the ground that

the petitioner is not an employee of ECL. He is a

workman of the employer/DCL and comes under the

purview of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

On the question of maintainability, this Court is

of the view that since the petitioner is admittedly

discharging his duties as a Supervisor and also

drawing wages/salary exceeding Rs.10,000/- per

month he cannot be held to be a workman under the

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Mr. Bhattacharya further submits that the

criminal proceedings against the petitioner has not

yet been initiated since no charge-sheet has been filed

till date despite an FIR being lodged in November

2020. He relies on a judgment reported in (1991) 4

SCC 109 (Union of India & Ors. Vs. K. V.

Janakiraman & Ors.) in support of the proposition

that initiation of criminal proceedings is usually upon

filing of a charge-sheet. Therefore, since no criminal

proceedings are pending as on date, the disciplinary

proceedings should not be stayed by this Court.

Let the matter come up for further consideration

under the same heading "Motion" on February 21,

2023.

All parties shall act on the server copies of this

order duly downloaded from the official website of

this Hon'ble Court.

(Lapita Banerji, J.)