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2024 Supreme(All) 537
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
J.J. MUNIR, J.
Israr Ali - Petitioner
Versus
State of U.P. and Others - Respondents
Writ - A No. 19152 of 2021
Decided On : 15-02-2024
For the Petitioner: Shamim Uddin Khan.
For the Respondent: C.S.C., Manoj Kumar Srivastava.
IMPORTANT POINT
Regular drivers, whether a vehicle is allotted to them or not, are entitled to receive honorarium equivalent to one month's basic pay every financial year as per the Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011, and the respondents are obliged to make the payment with interest as per the court's decision.
Headnote:
Mandamus - Salary Arrears - UP Power Corporation's Order 05.07.2011 - [Section 2, UP Power Corporation's Order 05.07.2011] - The court discussed the entitlement of regular drivers to receive honorarium equivalent to one month's basic pay every financial year as per the UP Power Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011. The court interpreted the order and clarified that all regular drivers, whether a vehicle is allotted to them or not, are entitled to the honorarium. The court emphasized that the provision was made considering the difficulty level of a driver's job and the fact that it may involve working outside normal working hours, and it may also involve working extra duty hours. The court held that the respondents are obliged to pay the petitioner honorarium for the period of nine years, as mentioned in the order dated 5th July, 2011 until the year of his retirement, and ordered the payment of the said sum of money, which has been unlawfully withheld by the respondents, with 6% interest due from the date that each year's honorarium fell due until payment.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a retired permanent driver of the UP Power Corporation Ltd., sought arrears of salary equivalent to one month's basic pay every year as honorarium, as per the Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011. The respondents denied the claim, stating that the petitioner was not entitled to the honorarium due to his health conditions and outsourcing of driver services.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the petitioner, being a regular and permanent driver, was entitled to the honorarium as per the Corporation's order. The court rejected the respondents' claim that the petitioner was not entitled to the honorarium due to his health conditions and outsourcing of driver services. The court held that the respondents are obliged to pay the petitioner honorarium for the period of nine years, as mentioned in the order dated 5th July, 2011 until the year of his retirement, and ordered the payment of the said sum of money, which has been unlawfully withheld by the respondents, with 6% interest due from the date that each year's honorarium fell due until payment.
Issues: Entitlement of the petitioner to receive honorarium as per the Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011, and the impact of the petitioner's health conditions and outsourcing of driver services on the entitlement.
Ratio Decidendi: The court clarified that all regular drivers, whether a vehicle is allotted to them or not, are entitled to the honorarium as per the Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011. The court emphasized that the provision was made considering the difficulty level of a driver's job and the fact that it may involve working outside normal working hours, and it may also involve working extra duty hours. The court held that the respondents are obliged to pay the petitioner honorarium for the period of nine years, as mentioned in the order dated 5th July, 2011 until the year of his retirement, and ordered the payment of the said sum of money, which has been unlawfully withheld by the respondents, with 6% interest due from the date that each year's honorarium fell due until payment.
Final Decision: The petition succeeded, and a mandamus was issued to the Superintending Engineer, Electricity Works Division, Prayagraj, ordering him to pay the petitioner arrears of honorarium from the financial year 2010-11 until the financial year till he retired, in accordance with the Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011 together with 6% interest due from the date that each year's honorarium fell due until payment.
JUDGMENT :
1. This writ petition has been instituted by the petitioner, praying that a mandamus be issued, ordering the Superintending Engineer, Electricity Works Division, Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Prayagraj, to pay arrears of salary due to the petitioner on account of his entitlement to receive the equivalent of one month's basic pay every year of his service as honorarium, in accordance with the UP Power Corporation's order dated 5th July, 2011, making provision in that behalf for regular drivers.
2. The short case of the petitioner is that he was a permanent driver in the employ of the UP Power Corporation Ltd. (for short, 'the Corporation') and working under the immediate control of the Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Vidyut Madhyamik Karya Khand, Prayagraj. He retired from service on 30.06.2019 upon attaining the age of superannuation. The UP Power Corporation issued an order, bearing Letter No.622&dkfouh ,oa oså çå&29@ikdkfy@11&5&ih@90 ¼Vhlh&c½ dated 5th July, 2011, making provision for the payment of a month's extra salary in every financial year as honorarium to regular drivers of the Corporation attached to a vehicle. The sum of money payable on this account was directed to be the equivalent of the driver's basic pay for a month. This provision was made, bearing in mind the difficult services rendered by drivers as a class. The Corporation's order of 5th July, 2011 was made applicable from the then current financial year 2010-11. The petitioner retired on 30.06.2019, but was never paid the aforesaid honorarium, equivalent to a month's basic pay. He represented the matter to the respondents thrice: once on 17.02.2021, and again on 28.09 to 2021 and 18.10.2021.
3. In response to these demands, the petitioner states that a memo dated 01.11.2021 was issued by an Executive Engineer on behalf of the Chief Engineer (Distribution), Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Prayagraj, addressed to the Superintending Engineer, Electricity Works Division, Prayagraj, bringing to his notice the fact that the petitioner has not been paid his honorarium equivalent to a month's basic pay each year in terms of the Corporation's order dated 05.07.2011, which he has claimed. The letter mentions that the Executive Engineer has been instructed to say that the petitioner's claim for a month's extra pay should be dealt with according to rules. The petitioner's case further is that despite the aforesaid instructions issued from the office of the Chief Engineer (Distribution), the Superintending Engineer, respondent No.3, has failed to make good the petitioner's arrears on account of his unpaid honorarium.
4. A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondent Nos.2 and 3 by the Executive Engineer, Electricity Works Division, Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Prayagraj. The petitioner's claim, which works out to nine month's extra salary, as the Executive Engineer says, has been denied as misconceived. The reason pleaded in Paragraph No.6 of the counter affidavit is that the petitioner is not entitled to draw extra salary as honorarium for nine month's, because he was suffering from heart disease as well as lung ailments, and on that account, did not work as a driver on his own request. He was assigned office work as a record keeper. It is pleaded that it was for the said reason that the driver's work was undertaken through outsourcing with the respondents entering into a contract with a certain Prakhar Enterprises. A copy of the agreement with Prakhar Enterprises has been annexed to the return filed on behalf of respondent Nos.2 and 3.
5. In Paragraph No.9 of the counter affidavit, it is averred that from 2010 to 2019, the work of a driver was done through an outsourcing agency as the petitioner was seriously ill with his heart ailment and lung disease. It is also averred that for the said reasons, the petitioner's request was accepted on humanitarian grounds, assigning him office work, where he had to maintain r
