Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2022 Supreme(SC) 98

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. NAGESWARA RAO, B.R. GAVAI, JJ.
Bijay Kumar Sinha and Others – Petitioners
Versus
Tripurari Sharan and Others – Respondents
Contempt Petition (C) Nos............/2022, 345 of 2021, 651, 652 of 2020, Diary Nos. 13110, 21402 of 2021, SLP (Civil) Nos. 5843, 5844, 5846 of 2020, M.A. No. 875 of 2021
Decided On : 18-01-2022

Advocates appeared:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. Kripa Shankar Prasad, AOR. Ms. Ritu Rajkumari, Adv. Mr. Animesh kumar, Adv. Mr. Neeraj Shekhar, AOR Mr. Nishant Kumar, Adv Ms. Utkarsha Sharma, Adv Ms. Shweta Singh, Adv Mr. Somesh Chandra Jha, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Abhinav Mukerji,AOR Mrs. Bihu Sharma, Adv. Ms. Pratishtha Vij, Adv. Mr. Akshay Shrivastava, Adv.

IMPORTANT POINT
Contempt of Court – State of Bihar was required to give benefit to each of appellants by counting services as rendered by them in Boards, Corporations and Public Sector Undertakings prior to their absorption and to grant them pensionary benefits after counting such service in Boards or Corporations.

Headnote:
Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 – Section 12 – Contempt of Court – Petitioners have approached this Court by present contempt petition contending that respondents have committed contempt of this Court inasmuch as they have failed to comply with orders passed by this Court dated 4th March 2020 and 15th February 2021 – In order dated 4th March 2020, this Court has reproduced, in extenso, directions issued by High Court of Patna in its order dated 12th December 2017. – Said order of High Court of Patna is very clear – It was directed to State of Bihar to grant benefits to each of appellants therein by counting services as rendered by them in Boards, Corporations and Public Sector Undertakings prior to their absorption and to grant them pensionary benefits after counting such service in Boards or Corporations – State of Bihar was required to give benefit to each of appellants by counting services as rendered by them in Boards, Corporations and Public Sector Undertakings prior to their absorption and to grant them pensionary benefits after counting such service in Boards or Corporations – Prima facie, non-compliance of directions issued by this Court dated 4th March 2020 and 15th February 2021, is wilful and deliberate and amounts to contempt of this Court – Contempt notice issued to respondent-contemnors – Compliance of directions, in the meantime, will have a bearing on punishment that may be inflicted upon respondent-contemnors. (Paras 8, 11, 13 to 16)
Facts of the case:
Matter pertains to absorption in service and grant of pensionary and retiral benefits by counting period of service spent in various corporations. Petitioners have approached this Court contending that respondents have committed contempt of the order dated 15th February 2021 passed by this Court.
Findings of Court:
Respondent-contemnors to remain present before this Court on 22nd February 2022 and show cause as to why they should not be held guilty for having committed contempt of this Court and be punished in accordance with law.
Result : I.As. disposed of with directions.

ORDER :

1. The petitioners have approached this Court contending that the respondents have committed contempt of the order dated 15th February 2021 passed by this Court.

2. The present proceedings have a chequered history. The petitioners were appointed in various Corporations in the erstwhile State of Bihar much prior to 1996. In the year 1996, the fodder scam resulted in a large number of employees working in the Treasury Department either being dismissed or suspended. On account of shortfall of the employees in the Treasury Department, several Corporations including the one, wherein the petitioners were employed, were directed by the Department of Finance, Treasury and Accounts Directorate, Government of Bihar vide its Letter No. 447 dated 24th August 1996, to send the services of the employees on deputation. In pursuance to the directions dated 24th August 1996, issued by the State Government, the petitioners and other employees were relieved and joined the different treasuries in the erstwhile State of Bihar. On 15th November 2000, the State of Bihar was bifurcated into the State of Bihar and the State of Jharkhand. The employees were accordingly apportioned amongst the two States.

3. Various such employees employed with the State of Jharkhand had approached the Jharkhand High Court by filing writ petition being W.P. (S) No. 1693 of 2012, with the grievance that the services of such employees with the Corporations were not considered for the purpose of pensionary and retiral benefits. The employees succeeded before the Jharkhand High Court vide its order dated 31st July 2013. The L.P.A. No. 357 of 2013 filed by the State of Jharkhand before the Division Bench was also dismissed vide order dated 14th January 2015. The State of Jharkhand came up before this Court by filing Civil Appeal No. 13372 of 2015. This Court, vide order dated 7th September 2017, refused to interfere with the order of the Jharkhand High Court dated 14th January 2015 and directed that the pension and retiral benefits as also the arrears shall be calculated giving the benefit of the judgment of the Jharkhand High Court within a period of 6 months.

4. Simultaneously, a similar set of employees who were apportioned to the State of Bihar, were also pursuing the remedy before the High Court of Judicature at Patna. The proceedings reached the Division Bench of the High Court of Patna by way of L.P.A. No. 763 of 2017. The Division Bench of the High Court of Patna passed the following order on 12th December 2017:

6. That being the position, we see no reason to deny the same benefit to these appellants, who are identically situated, like the other, who are allocated to State of Jharkhand after reorganization of the State of Bihar in the year 2000.

7. In view of the aforesaid, we allow all these appeals, quash the order dated 29.03.2017 passed by the Writ Court in C.W.J.C. No. 7702 of 2010 and other analogous cases and direct the State of Bihar to grant benefit to each of the appellants herein by counting services as rendered by them in the Boards, Corporations and Public Sector Undertakings prior to their absorption and to grant them the pensionary benefit after counting such service in the Boards or Corporations.

8. That apart, we may observe that this order shall be made applicable to all such employees, who are working in the State of Bihar. Regardless to the fact as to whether they have filed writ application or not, as per the Litigation

Click Here to Read the rest of this document