Jharkhand High Court
Employees In Relation To The ... vs Pradeep Kumar on 7 October, 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
L.P.A. No. 48 of 2021
with
I.A. No. 632 of 2021
with
I.A. No. 633 of 2021
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Employees in relation to the Management of Food Corporation of
India through Shambhu Nath Mishra, aged about 45 years, son of Shri
Diliip Kumar Mishra, working as the Area/Divisional Manager at
District/Divisional Office Gaya, situated at Parmanand Niketan, North
Church Road, P.S. Gandhi Maidan, P.O. & District Gaya (Bihar).
....... Appellant
Versus
Pradeep Kumar, son of Late Sivcharan Ram, resident of Bhat Bigha,
Katari Hill Road, Gaya, P.S. Rampur, P.O. & District Gaya (Bihar).
......... Respondent
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CORAM: HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUJIT NARAYAN PRASAD
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For the Appellant: Mr. Nipun Bakshi, Mrinal Singh, Raj Kumar
Gupta, Satish Bakshi, Advocates
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Oral Order
04 / Dated : 07.10.2021
I.A. No. 633 of 2021
1. This application has been filed for condoning the delay in
preferring this appeal.
2. However, the office has reported that in view of the order
dated 23.03.2020 and 06.05.2020 passed in suo motu Writ Civil No.03
of 2020 by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, the appeal is within
time, therefore, no order is required to be passed in the present
interlocutory application and the same is consigned to the record.
However, this order would be subject to any objection raised in future
by any aggrieved party.
L.P.A. No. 48 of 2021
L.P.A No. 48 of 2021
3. Heard learned counsel for the appellant.
4. The instant intra-court appeal under Clause 10 of the Letters
Patent is directed against the order/judgment dated 03.09.2020 passed
by the learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(L) No.2870 of 2016,
whereby and whereunder, the writ petition has been disposed of with a
direction upon the Appellant-Management to pay amount of Rs.6
lakhs as one time settlement to the respondent-workman, which shall
be paid within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a
copy of the order with a further direction that if the said amount is not
paid within the aforesaid time frame, it will carry interest at the rate of
10% per month.
5. The brief facts of the case, as per the pleadings made in the
writ petition, which are required to be enumerated read hereunder as:-
The respondent who was working against the regular post
under the appellant-Management was dismissed from the service
which ultimately culminated into a reference case bearing Reference
Case No. 178 of 1997, wherein, an Award has been passed answering
the issue holding the order of dismissal as unjustified with a direction
to regularise the services of the respondent-workman against a regular
post at once without giving any backwages with a rider that if the
Award is not implemented within a month from the date of publication
of the Award in the Gazette of India and the Management did not pray
time to implement the same Award, the Management shall pay a sum
of Rs.10,000/- per month from the 31st day of publication of the
Award towards compensation.
L.P.A. No. 48 of 2021
The Management has approached this Court by filing writ
petition under Section 226 of the Constitution of India assailing the
aforesaid Award which was heard on 31.01.2017 and while issuing
notice an another coordinate learned Single Judge of this Court has
passed an order of stay of operation of the impugned Award dated
05.05.2015 passed in Reference Case No.178 of 1997. When the writ
petition was taken up it was informed by the learned counsel for the
respondent-workman that as the workman has reached the age of
superannuation at the time of Award itself and as such, for the ends of
justice, it would be better if the Management offers one time
settlement to the workman.
Learned counsel for the appellant-Management has consented
to sort out the dispute by giving a lump sum amount to the workman
and if any reasonable amount is fixed by this Court the Management is
ready to pay the same.
Learned Single Judge, after considering the consensus
advanced on behalf of the counsel for the parties, has hold that the
respondent-workman is entitled for a lump sum amount of Rs.6 lakhs
as one time settlement which is to be paid within a period of two
months from the date of receipt of the order, failing which the amount
will carry interest at the rate of 10% per month.
Learned counsel for the appellant-Management at the outset
submitted that the order passed by the learned Single Judge since is
based upon the concession accorded by him and as such, there is no
much scope to argue the case however, he has submitted that if the one
time lump sum compensation of Rs 6 lakhs may be reduced he will not
press the instant appeal since he has confined his prayer to reduce the
L.P.A. No. 48 of 2021
amount of compensation which has been fixed by the learned Single
Judge to the tune of Rs 6 lakhs.
6. We have considered the aforesaid argument and also
considered the fact that the Award has been passed on 05.05.2015
wherein a direction upon the Management has been passed to pay a
sum of Rs 10,000/- per month from the 31st day of publication of
Award, towards compensation and as per the provisions as contained
under Section 17-A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the Award is to
be enforced within a period of one month from the day of its
publication. Since the Award has been passed on 05.05.2015 and as
such, as per the statutory provision as contained under Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947 the said Award ought to have been published within
a month from 05.05.2015. As per the Award, there is a direction to pay
a sum of Rs. 10,000/- per month from 31st day of publication of the
Award which will be said to be applicable on or before 21.07.2015 and
the awarded amount of Rs.10,000/- if calculated from 21.07.2015
taking the date as of today, the yearly amount would be Rs.1,20,000/-
and as of today the total amount would be more than Rs.7 lakhs
approximately. However, it has been submitted that the Award has been
stayed vide order dated 31.01.2017 and as such, the Management is
only liable to pay sum of Rs.10,000/- upto 30.01.2017 but we are not
impressed with such argument as because the Award since has been
enforced within a month from the date of publication of the Award as
would appear from the provision of Section 17-A of the Industrial
Disputes Act, 1947 and as per the direction passed in the Award a sum
of Rs. 10,000/- was required to be paid from 31st day of publication of
the Award towards compensation and as such, even though this Court
L.P.A. No. 48 of 2021
has stayed the Award vide order dated 31.01.2017, it is much after the
enforceability of the Award as per the provisions of Section 17-A of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Since the learned Single Judge has
awarded an amount of Rs.6 lakhs to be paid in favour of the workman
which amount is less than the awarded amount of compensation which
comes to more than Rs. 7 lakhs approximately if calculated from 31st
day of publication of the Award in view of the provision of 17-A of the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and therefore, we are not inclined to
modify the order passed by the learned Single Judge by reducing the
amount of compensation from Rs. 6 lakh.
7. In view thereof, since the awarded amount has been on the
basis of the concession recorded by the learned counsel for the
appellant-Management as also for the reason aforesaid, we are not
inclined to interfere with the impugned order.
8. Accordingly, the instant appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.
Consequent thereto I.A. No. 632 of 2021 also stands disposed of.
(Dr. Ravi Ranjan, C.J.)
(Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.)
V.K.
N.A.F.R.
