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2000 Supreme(AP) 737

Andhra Pradesh High Court
Judges : B.S.A.SWAMY
Anasuya M. - Appellant
Versus
Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad - Respondent
Decided On : 09-25-00

Headnote:

Contract labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 - Section 10 (1) – Employment - Misconduct - Offence - It is rather astonishing to note that senior officers working in the Nuclear Fuel Complex at, a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy, which is directly under the administrative control of the Hon ble Prime minister, not only violated the law of the land with impunity but also showed defiant attitude towards the orders passed by this Court apart from obtaining orders from this Court to the detriment of the working class by swearing in to false affidavits and misleading this Court without placing the real facts before this Court from time to time as per their convenience - Their actions can be summed up in one word, they have no respect either for the law or for the truth leave apart the compliance of the commands of the Courts as declared by the apex Court as well as this Court - They are under the impression that King can do no wrong and the laws made by the Parliament are not applicable to them out someone else - Unfortunately, these organisations happen to be the Government undertakings - Authorities constituted for the implementation of welfare legislations like payment of Minimum Wages act and the Employees Provident Fund are not bothered to visit these organizations or find out whether they are complying with the provisions of these Acts or not - In the result, every Act intending to safeguard the interests of the workmen from the unethical methods adopted by the employer remains a myth in these organisations and nothing but anarchy is prevailing in these organisations – Held,- When once the action of the respondents in engaging the contract labour for the sweeping work in the premises of the respondent unit, a work of perennial nature is declared as illegal, intermediary contract vanishes and there exists a direct relationship of master and workmen between the petitioners and the respondent unit - In the light of the findings recorded by me on various objections that were raised by the respondents the petitioners have to succeed in this writ petition and writ of mandamus shall issue to the respondents to take back the petitioners as sweepers in the premises guarded by CISF and also to take further steps to regularise the services of the petitioners in Group D posts for which they are entitled to, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order - Petitioners have to get exemplary costs from the respondents for the unethical manner in which the officers of the respondent unit acted all through from the inception of the unit at but also in opposing the relief sought for in this writ petition by raising frivolous and untenable contentions -In the result, the writ petition is allowed with costs. Advocate fee is fixed – Allowed.

B. S. A. SWAMY, J.

( 1 ) IT is rather astonishing to note that senior officers working in the Nuclear Fuel Complex at Hyderabad, a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy, which is directly under the administrative control of the Hon ble Prime minister, not only violated the law of the land with impunity but also showed defiant attitude towards the orders passed by this Court apart from obtaining orders from this Court to the detriment of the working class by swearing in to false affidavits and misleading this Court without placing the real facts before this Court from time to time as per their convenience. Their actions can be summed up in one word i. e. , they have no respect either for the law or for the truth leave apart the compliance of the commands of the Courts as declared by the apex Court as well as this Court. They are under the impression that King can do no wrong and the laws made by the Parliament are not applicable to them out someone else. Unfortunately, these organisations happen to be the Government undertakings. Authorities constituted for the implementation of welfare legislations like payment of Minimum Wages act and the Employees Provident Fund are not bothered to visit these organizations or find out whether they are complying with the provisions of these Acts or not. In the result, every Act intending to safeguard the interests of the workmen from the unethical methods adopted by the employer remains a myth in these organisations and nothing but anarchy is prevailing in these organisations.

( 2 ) IN fact, the issue raised in this writ petition is squarely covered by the judgment of mine in Pola Satyanarayana and others v. Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of labour, 2000-II-LLJ-1278 (AP ). But, as the respondents argued the matter cantankerously, i am forced to spend much time in hearing the arguments and pronouncing judgment to satisfy the ego of the officers.

( 3 ) THE petitioners 37 in number filed this writ petition seeking writ of mandamus declaring the action of the respondent- management (1) in not absorbing the petitioners as regular employees, in not paying the pay and also in not extending other benefits on par with the regular employees of the respondent- management as illegal, arbitrary and consequently directing the respondents to absorb the petitioners as its regular employees and (2) prescribing proper scales of pay and other service conditions to the petitioners from the date of their initial appointment together with arrears of salary.

( 4 ) THIS Court, while admitting the writ petition, by order dated October 22, 1998. passed the following order WPMP No. 35709 of 1998, which is as hereunder:"if the petitioners are in service as on today, that position shall be maintained till further orders from the Court"

( 5 ) AS per the version of the petitioners, the very next day i. e. , on October 23, 1998, the respondents stopped petitioners 1 to 19 from attending to work as sweepers in the manufacturing plant and administrative building. On that, the petitioners filed CC No. 1903 of 1998, but, the same was dismissed by this Court on August 17, 1999 on the basis of a statement made by the respondents that the term of the contract, under whom they claimed to be working, expired on October 10, 1998 and that they were not in service on the date of interim orders passed by this Court.

( 6 ) THE relief sought for in this writ petition is opposed by the respondent-management by raising frivolous and untenable contentions by placing reliance on the observations of the apex Court as well as this Court in support of their actions without applying their mind whether those observations can be of any help to the respondents in opposing the claim of the petitioners or not. In fact, in a 7-page counter affidavit filed on December 17, 1988, 5 pages deal with the ratio decidendi declared by the supreme Court from time to time. This Court, by order dated December 30, 1998, in WVMP no. 4182 of 1998,































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