IMPORTANT POINT
Party having no legal right is not entitled to any relief.

JUDGMENT :

Ranjan Gogoi, J.

SLP(C) No. 34336 of 2009

1. Leave granted.

2. In the year 1999, to be precise on 12th February, 1999, the Rourkela Steel Plant (hereinafter referred to as “RSP”) introduced a Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 1999 covering employees who had served for a minimum of 15 years or who are above 40 years of age. Thereafter by Circular dated 9th August, 1999 the RSP floated another scheme called “Scheme for Allotment of Quarters to Ex-employees Separating under the SAIL VRS Scheme, 1999”. Under the said Scheme of 1999, employees of the RSP who were allotted official quarters were allowed to occupy such quarters on licence basis for a period of 22 (twenty two) months following their leaving the RSP/Company on the basis of voluntary retirement.

3. The respondents, 53 (fifty three) in number, were allotted quarters by the RSP and had opted for voluntary retirement under the Scheme. Accordingly, they were allowed to retain the official quarters for a period of 22 (twenty two) months which period was extended. Thereafter, the RSP came up with another Scheme called “Sail Scheme for Leasing of Houses to Employees, 2002”. This was on 22nd July, 2002. The said Scheme of 2002 contemplated allotment of houses/flats on long term lease basis (33 years) to serving employees. Ex-employees like the respondents–writ petitioners were excluded from the purview of the scheme.

4. The said Scheme of 2002 was challenged in a writ petition before the High Court of Orissa which was instituted way back in the year 2002. As it would appear from the pleadings of the parties before the High Court, while the appellant – Steel Authority of India Limited, at that point of time, had pressed for the inclusion of the ex-employees within the framework of the said Scheme of 2002, the State Government took the stand that such an action may invite public criticism. No affidavit was, however, filed by the State Government. By the impugned judgment and order dated 7th September, 2009 the writ petition in question was closed/disposed of by the following operative direction:

“In view of such, we dispose of this writ petition with a direction to the O.P. - SAIL Authorities to consider the case of the petitioners for allotment of quarters, which are in their occupation, on long term sub-lease basis, in terms of the Circular dated 22.7.2002 in Annexure-5. We further direct that in the event the quarters are allotted to the petitioners on long term sub-lease basis, the cost of such quarters shall be computed at the rate at which it was prevalent at the time when the Scheme came into force, along with interest thereon @ 9% per annum and the same shall be paid by the petitioners. Apart from that the petitioners are also liable to pay the unpaid house rent, electricity duty, water charges, if any, along with the aforesaid cost. However, there shall be no charge of penal rent from the petitioners.

We make it clear that this order only relates to those petitioners, who are presently in occupation of the quarters.

The writ petition as well as Misc. Case Nos. 842/2002, 3924/2003 & 354/2006 is also disposed of accordingly.”

5. Aggrieved, the Steel Authority of India Limited has filed the present appeal before this Court.

6. We have heard Shri Ranjit Kumar, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the appellant – Steel Authority of India Ltd., Shri Ratnakar Dash, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the respondents–writ petitioners and Shri Shibashish Misra, learned counsel for the State of Odisha.

7. Though several grounds including the authority of SAIL to grant a sub lease as directed by the High Court has been urged, the case of the appellant in the appeal before us is primarily based on subsequent facts which have been brought on record by means of an additional affidavit dated 22nd January, 2018. In the aforesaid additional affidavit dated 22nd January, 2018 it has been stated that the RSP, a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), had an initial production capacity