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2004 Supreme(All) 1442

HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
M.KATJU, UMESHWAR PANDEY
State Urban Development Agency
Versus
Dinesh Chandra Saxena
S.A. 968 of 2004
Decided On : 17 August 2004
S. A. 968 Of 2004

Advocates Appeared:
Neera Tiwari, R.D.Khare, S.N.Singh,

The court emphasized the principle that when services in the parent department are terminated, the services in the deputationist department automatically come to an end, and the employees lose their lien in the deputationist department. Additionally, the court highlighted that the writ petitioners had an alternative remedy of challenging the retrenchment under the Industrial Disputes Act, and the High Court should not ordinarily interfere when there is an alternative remedy before the Labour court/tribunal.

Headnote:

Interim Order - Deputation of Employees - The court held that the interim order granting final relief by staying the termination of services on deputation cannot be sustained. The court also emphasized that when services in the parent department are terminated, the services in the deputationist department automatically come to an end, and the employees lose their lien in the deputationist department. Additionally, the court highlighted that the writ petitioners had an alternative remedy of challenging the retrenchment under the Industrial Disputes Act, and the High Court should not ordinarily interfere when there is an alternative remedy before the Labour court/tribunal.

Fact of the Case:

The respondents were employees of the U. P. State Handloom corporation sent on deputation to the State Urban Development agency. They were retrenched from their parent department, and their services were terminated in the State Urban Development Agency.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the impugned interim order granting final relief by staying the termination of services on deputation cannot be sustained. The court also concluded that the writ petitioners had an alternative remedy of challenging the retrenchment under the Industrial Disputes Act, and the High Court should not ordinarily interfere when there is an alternative remedy before the Labour court/tribunal.

Issues: The issues involved the validity of the interim order staying the termination of services on deputation and the alternative remedy available to the writ petitioners under the Industrial Disputes Act.

Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized that when services in the parent department are terminated, the services in the deputationist department automatically come to an end, and the employees lose their lien in the deputationist department. Additionally, the court highlighted that the writ petitioners had an alternative remedy of challenging the retrenchment under the Industrial Disputes Act, and the High Court should not ordinarily interfere when there is an alternative remedy before the Labour court/tribunal.

Final Decision: The appeal was allowed, and the impugned order was set aside. The Writ Petition No. 26317 of 2004 was disposed of in terms of the above order.

M. KATJU, J.

( 1 ) HEARD learned counsel for the parties.

( 2 ) THIS special appeal has been filed against the impugned interim order of the learned single Judge dated July 16, 2004 in writ petition No. 26317 of 2004.

( 3 ) IT appears that the respondents were employees of the U. P. State Handloom corporation and they had been sent on deputation to the State Urban Development agency. They were retrenched from their parent department, that is U. P. State Handloom corporation. As a consequence, their services were also terminated in the State Urban development Agency where they had been sent on deputation.

( 4 ) BY the impugned interim order the order dated May 21, 2004 passed by the State urban Development Agency terminating the services on deputation of these employees have been stayed and the learned single Judge has further directed the authorities to allow the petitioners to continue in service in State Urban development Agency and District Urban development Agency.

( 5 ) AFTER hearing learned counsel for the parties in detail we are of the opinion that the impugned order cannot be sustained. Firstly by the said interim order final relief has been granted which cannot be done as held by this court in State of U. P. v. Meera Sankhwar, special Appeal No. 555 of 2004 decided on july 12, 2004 (reported in 2004 All LJ 3213 ). The entire case law on the point has been considered in the aforesaid Division Bench decision and hence we are not repeating the same.

( 6 ) THE consequence of the interim order dated July 16, 2004 would be that the writ petitioners would continue in the service of state Urban Development Agency and the district Urban Development Agency. In our opinion this amounts to giving final relief.

( 7 ) IN State of Haryana v. Suman Dutta, 2000 (10) SCC 311 the Supreme Court held that a termination order should not be stayed by the high Court by means of an interim order. The supreme Court in that decision observed:

"we are clearly of the opinion that the High court erred in law in staying the order of termination as interim measure in the pending writ petition. By such interim order if an employee is allowed to continue in service and then ultimately the writ petition is dismissed, then it would tantamount to usurpation of public office without any right to the same. "

( 8 ) THE ratio of the aforesaid decision squarely applies to the facts of the present case.

( 9 ) APART from the above we may also mention that the parent department of the writ petitioners was the U. P. State Handloom corporation and they had only been sent on deputation to the State Urban Development agency and the District Urban Development agency. When their services in the parent department was terminated (whether by way of retrenchment, dismissal or otherwise) their services in the deputationist department automatically comes to an end. This is because a person has his lien only in the parent department and not in the deputationist department. If his service in the parent department is terminated then he loses his lien in the parent department, and since he has no lien in the deputationist department obviously he cannot continue in the latter department.

( 10 ) MOREOVER, the writ petitioners had an alternative remedy of challenging the retrenchment under the Industrial Disputes act/u. P. Industrial Disputes Act and hence in our opinion the writ petition itself should not have been entertained, U. P. State Bridge corpn. Ltd. v. U. P. Rajya Setu Nigam karmchari Sangh, 2004 (4) SCC 268 : 2004-II-LLJ-9.

( 11 ) THE definition of industry in the industrial Disputes Act has been very widely interpreted by the Supreme Court in the case of bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board v. Rajappa, AIR 1978 SC 969 : 1978 (2) SCC 213 : 1978-I-LLJ-349 and in our opinion the u. P. State Handloom Corporation as well as state Urban Development Agency and District development Agency are industries. Hence, if the writ petitioners wanted to challenge their retrenchment





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