Gujarat High Court
Patel Nitaben Hasmukhbhai Wd/O ... vs Manager, Ahmedabad Municipal ... on 2 February, 2021
Bench: Nirzar S. Desai
C/SCA/21410/2019 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 21410 of 2019
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PATEL NITABEN HASMUKHBHAI WD/O HASMUKHBHAI DAHYABHAI
PATEL
Versus
MANAGER, AHMEDABAD MUNICIPAL TRANSPORT
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Appearance:
MR YOGEN N PANDYA(5766) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR HS MUNSHAW(495) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRZAR S. DESAI
Date : 02/02/2021
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Yogen N.
Pandya for the petitioner and learned advocate
Mr. H.S. Munshaw for respondent through video
conference.
2. By way of the present petition, the
petitioner has prayed for quashing and setting
aside the order passed by the Labour Judge,
Labour Court No.5, Ahmedabad, in Recovery
Application No.50 of 2018 dated 20.03.2019.
3. The brief facts leading to the rise of the
C/SCA/21410/2019 ORDER
present petition are as under:
3.1. The late husband of the petitioner was
working as a Driver under the respondent and as
he suffered from paralytic attack, he was not in
a position to perform his duty as a Driver. He,
therefore, requested for some other light duty.
He also furnished the certificate of Doctor of
V.S.Hospital, Ahmedabad. However, since his
request for assigning him light duty was not
accepted and was asked to report for duty as a
Driver, the deceased, unilaterally, stopped for
reporting the duty somewhere in the year 2002 and
he raised industrial dispute and demanded that he
should be assigned light duty. In the meantime,
somewhere in the year 2004, the petitioner took
voluntary retirement. The appropriate Government
has referred the dispute for adjudication vide
order dated 30.10.2002 and the said reference
came to be registered as Reference (I.T.) No.385
of 2002. The Tribunal after considering the
pleadings and evidence on record submitted by the
C/SCA/21410/2019 ORDER
advocates for the respective parties, passed an
award dated 14.10.2011 and while allowing the
Reference, direction was issued upon the
respondent to pay all the benefits to the
deceased driver towards his voluntary retirement
within a period of 90 days.
4. The aforesaid award was challenged by
the present respondent by preferring the Special
Civil Application No.4066 of 2012 before this
Court. Initially, this Court had issued rule and
stayed the order dated 14.10.2011, on a condition
to deposit the amount awarded by the Tribunal
within a period of six weeks from the date of the
order before the Registry of this Court.
5. Accordingly, the respondent herein had
deposited an amount of Rs.3,97,096/ before this
Court on 10.05.2012.
6. This Court, after hearing the
submissions of the parties and appreciating the
evidence on record, vide judgment and order dated
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18.11.2016 rejected the petition preferred by the
respondent herein.
7. However, since there was no direction to
disburse the amount in favour of the deceased
Driverrespondent in that petition, which was
already deposited before the Registry of this
Court, the amount could not be disbursed.
8. Thereafter, a Misc. Civil Application
was preferred before this Court seeking
appropriate direction for implementation of the
judgment and order dated 18.11.2016, but the same
was withdrawn. Even, a contempt petition was also
preferred by the petitioner, which also came to
be disposed of, by this Court vide order dated
20.09.2018. Though, the deceased Driver had
expired on 10.02.2005, the same fact was not
brought to the notice of this Court in an earlier
round of litigation, and therefore, the present
petitioner preferred a Recovery Application being
No.50 of 2018 under Section 33(C)(2) of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, whereby, she had
C/SCA/21410/2019 ORDER
prayed for computation of amount deposited before
the Registry of this Court and for declaration to
the effect that she is entitled for disbursement
of the amount deposited before the Registry of
this Court.
9. However, the Labour Judge, Labour Court
No.5, Ahmedabad, rejected the said Recovery
Application No.50/2018 vide order dated
20.03.2019, by observing that since the amount
was deposited before the Registry of this Court
and the amount was directed to be deposited
before this Court by an order passed by this
Court, any order in respect of the disbursement
can be passed by this Court only, and Labour
Court cannot pass any order in respect of the
disbursement of the amount in favour of the
petitioner and hence, this petition is preferred
by the petitioner.
10. Learned advocate Mr. Pandya for the
petitioner submits that the amount of
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Rs.3,97,096/ is deposited by the respondent,
pursuant to the order dated 10.04.2012 passed by
this Court in Special Civil Application 4066 of
2012 and after the said amount deposited before
this Court, this Court has passed further order
to invest it in the Fixed Deposit. Now, since the
Special Civil Application No.4066 of 2012 is
already being rejected by this Court vide order
dated 18.11.2016 and considering the fact that,
this order has not been carried further in any
appeal by the respondent, the amount should be
disbursed in favour of the present petitioner,
who is legal heir of deceased Driver.
11. Learned advocate Mr. H.S.Munshaw for the
respondent submits that considering the facts of
the case, appropriate directions be issued.
12. It is not in dispute that vide order
dated 10.04.2012, this Court had directed the
respondent to deposit the amount awarded to the
deceased husband of the petitioner by way of
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award dated 14.10.2011 and accordingly, the
respondent has already deposited a sum of
Rs.3,97,096/ before the Registry of this Court
and the same amount has been kept in Fixed
Deposit and has been renewed from time to time,
as submitted by the learned advocate Mr. Pandya.
Now, since the petition is preferred by the legal
heir of deceased Driver, considering the facts
and circumstances of the case, it would be in the
interest of justice to direct the Registry of
this Court to disburse amount deposited along
with the interest accrued thereon in favour of
the present petitioner.
13. Accordingly, following directions are issued:
(I) The order dated 20.03.2019 passed by the
Labour Judge, Labour Court No.5,
Ahmedabad, in Recovery Application No.50
of 2018 is hereby quashed and set aside.
(II) The Registry of this Court is directed
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to disburse an amount of Rs.3,97,096/
deposited by the respondent, pursuant to
the order dated 10.04.2012 passed in
Special Civil Application No.4066 of 2012
along with the interest accrued on it in
favour of the petitioner, who happens to
be the wife of the deceased Driver by way
of A/c payee cheque within a period of
four weeks from today. The said exercise
shall be completed latest by 5th March,
2021.
14. In view of the above directions, petition is
allowed to the aforesaid extent. Rule made
absolute to the aforesaid extent, with no order
as to costs.
(NIRZAR S. DESAI,J)
Pradhyuman
