ORDER :

Sanjay K. Agrawal, J.

1. The petitioners herein seek to challenge the constitutional validity of Section 12 of the Chhattisgarh Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College, Durg (Acquisition) Act, 2021 (for short, ‘the Act of 2021’) which came into force with effect from 3-9-2021.

2. The Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Hospital Private Limited (CCMH Pvt. Ltd.) is a private company owned and operated by respondent No.3 herein and the said Company operates two establishments – the Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College & Hospital, Kachandur, Durg and the Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Hospital at Motilal Nehru Nagar, Bhilai, District Durg. It is the claim of the petitioners that they were permanent employees of the said Medical College at Durg that has been acquired by the State Government. In July, 2021, the State Legislature has passed the Act of 2021 acquiring the assets, land, equipment, etc. of the Medical College at Kachandur, Durg by making payment of exorbitant compensation to the previous owners and the present petitioners and other workers were sought to be removed summarily by virtue of the provisions contained in Section 12 of the Act of 2021. It is also their case that no provision was made for paying them any retrenchment compensation nor was any notice served as required by law and it was held that the erstwhile management was to be responsible for the amounts due to the workers before the alleged acquisition. It was further pleaded that Section 12 of the Act of 2021 brought their services to an end. Sub-section (1) of Section 12 provides that none of the employees would have any claim for service under the new management of the Medical College. Similarly, sub-section (3) of Section 12 provides that they could claim any dues for services rendered in the past before the takeover from the erstwhile management i.e. respondent No.3 herein. There was no provision in the Act of 2021 to say that their services would be continued with the parent company. This shows that the Act had an awareness that the workers would have no claim to employment in CCMH Pvt. Ltd. after the acquisition of the Medical College at Kachandur, Durg, by the State Government. It is the further case of the petitioners that the State is obliged to act as model employer and prayer has been made to declare Section 12 of the Act of 2021 as ultra vires and further relief has been sought to direct the State Government to absorb the petitioners as employees in Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College, Kachandur, Durg with continuity of service. It has also been prayed that since Section 12 of the Act of 2021 has the effect of removing the workers from their jobs in an absolutely arbitrary manner, it be struck down as unconstitutional and ultra vires to the provisions of the Constitution of India.

3. Return to the writ petition has been filed by the State Government. It has been pleaded that the Act of 2021 is not ultra vires and there is always a presumption in favour of the constitutionality and an Act of Legislature will not be declared unconstitutional unless the case is so clear as to be free from doubt. It has further been pleaded that when the validity of a statute or the Act of Legislature is questioned and there are two interpretations, one of which would make the law valid and other void, the former must be preferred avoiding the other interpretation which makes the law void. In pronouncing on the constitutional validity of a statute, the court is not concerned with the wisdom or otherwise, the justice or injustice of the law. If the Act of Legislature, which is passed into law, is within the scope of the power conferred on a legislature and violates no restrictions on that power, the law must be upheld. It has also been pleaded that Chandulal Chandrakar Memorial Medical College was set up and started its operation in 2013 at Kachandur, Durg having 750 bed capacity in the medical college and the said hospital is having permission