The main legal point established in the judgment is that ex-employees, initially government servants, are entitled to pensionary and retiral benefits as government servants, in accordance with relevant constitutional provisions and previous judgments.

JUDGMENT :

1. By medium of the present Petition, the Petitioners are seeking a direction upon the Respondents to grant them pensionary and other retiral benefits, being the legal heirs of ex-employees of the Government Joinery Mills Pampore (a Unit of J&K Industries Limited, Srinagar), as has been granted in favour of the Petitioners in Writ Petitions bearing SWP No. 275/2006 titled ‘Ab. Gani Hajam & Ors. v. State of J&K’; SWP No. 1492/2006 titled as ‘Santosh Kumari v. State & Ors.’; and SWP No. 1000/2005 titled ‘Syed Ahmad Bahaki & Ors. v. State & Ors.’ A direction is also sought upon the Respondent No.1 to calculate the pensionary and other retiral benefits to which the deceased employees are entitled through their legal heirs/dependents. The Petitioner No.1 claims to be the son and legal heir of one Late Ab. Gaffar Khar (ex-Gardener), whereas the Petitioner No.2 claims to be the son and legal heir of Gh. Hassan Shah (ex-Santry), and after their death during the present proceedings, their legal heirs were brought on record.

2. The Petitioners contend that the erstwhile State of J&K, under its executive powers to carry the business and trade under Article 298 of the Constitution of India, opened many industrial Units under the administrative control of Department of Industries & Commerce, which included Spinning Mill Amda Kadal, Government Woolen Mills Bemina, Rajbagh Silk Factory, Government Joinery Mills Kashmir, etc. All these Units were managed by the Industries & Commerce Department till 1963, when by virtue of Order dated 10th of August, 1963, a Board of Directors for better administration was constituted and, subsequently, on 3rd of October, 1963, the J&K Industries Limited was incorporated as a Company and on 8th of October, 1963 the said Units were entrusted to the JKI Limited in which the Government Joinery Mills figured at S. No.6. Till 3rd of October, 1963, when the aforesaid Government Units were entrusted to the Company, the said Units were enjoying all the amenities and benefits as were available to the Government employees under Civil Service Regulations and other rules. Even after the JKI took over the Units, the employees continued to draw the said benefits in the shape of pension, leave salary and DA etc.

3. The Petitioners allege that after 1979, pursuant to the report of the Rajan Wage Committee, the said benefits were withdrawn and the employees who were basically the Government employees were treated as the employees of the Company against which a Writ Petition bearing SWP No. 236/1982 titled ‘Jawahar Lal Sazawal & Ors. v. State of J&K and Ors.’ was filed before this Court, wherein a direction was sought for treating the Petitioners therein as Government employees with all rights, benefits and other privileges. The said Writ Petition came to be dismissed by the Division Bench of this Court, against which SLP was filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court which was allowed and the Petitioners therein were granted the relief as prayed in the Writ Petition. Pursuant to the said judgment, all the employees who had been appointed prior to 3rd of October, 1963, i.e., the date of entrustment of the aforesaid Units to the JKI, were entitled to pensionary and other benefits, however, the Government of J&K extended the relief only to the Petitioners vide Government Order No. 219-Ind of 2002 dated 8th of August, 2002.

4. Thereafter, the similarly situated employees filed Writ Petition bearing SWP No. 275/2006 titled as ‘Ab. Gani Hajam & Ors. v. State of J&K’ and one Writ Petition was also filed by one Santosh Kumari on behalf of her deceased husband bearing SWP No. 1492/2006. Both the Writ Petitions were allowed vide Judgments dated 28th of January, 2008 and 29th of November, 2007. In both the said Judgments, this Court was of the view that the Petitioners as well as those employees who had been given the benefit of Judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court are equally situated, as such, they too were entitled for