The court reaffirmed the right to equitable treatment in employment, necessitating the re-evaluation of absorption-related pay and benefits for employees absorbed under the U.P. Absorption Rules.

JUDGMENT :

IRSHAD ALI, J.

1. Heard Dr. L.P. Misra, learned counsel for the applicants alongwith Sri Tarun Mishra, Advocate and Sri Pankaj Khare, learned counsel for the respondents.

2. This review application has been filed against the order dated 03.08.2023 passed in Writ - A No. 962 of 2010 - " Ram Kishan and Ors. vs State of UP ".

3. The grounds taken by the petitioners are as follows :

(i) while passing the judgment under review the relief clauses (f) & (h), though noted in para-2 of the impugned judgment have escaped the consideration of this Hon'ble Court which has resulted in miscarriage of justice to the Petitioners.

(ii) the petitioners were absorbed as class IV employees in the establishment of U.P. Civil Secretariat vide order dated 04.04.2012 (Annexure 47 to the writ petition brought on record through amendment) in consequence of the "U.P. Absorption of Surplus Employees of Uptron India Ltd. in Government Service Rules 2011" enforced w.e.f. 20.12.2011 and the consequential Government order dated 20.12.2011 notified vide notification dated 20.12.2011 issued in exercise of empowerment flowing from these Rules specifying the procedure and conditions of absorption but the judgement under review has proceeded on the assumption as if the writ petitioners were yet to be absorbed.

(iii) the government order issued vide gazette notification dated 20.12.2011 in exercise of the powers under "U.P. Absorption of Surplus Employees of Uptron India Ltd. in Government Service Rules 2011" hereinafter referred to 2011, Rules specifically provided that the employees of the erstwhile Uptron India Ltd. were to be absorbed in the service of the Government department concerned by treating them as the employees having been working in the concerned Government

Accordingly, the Absorption of the Petitioners ought to have been made by treating them as if they have been working in the department of U.P. Civil Secretariat. That is to say, all the service rendered by the Petitioners in the eratwhile service of Uptron, which undisputedly was regular service and the service rendered by them as a major of adjustment in U.P. Civil Secretariat against the duly sanctioned post up to the date of their absorption ought to have been added towards their period of service while fixing and re-fixing their salary as a result of absorption in the U.P. Civil Secretariat together with all other service benefits.

(iv) the "U.P. Absorption of Surplus Employees of Uptron India Ltd. in Government Service Rules 2011" vide Rule 3(1) have been given an overriding effect over the operative service rules prevalent at the point of time of enforcement of these Rules and this Rule 3(1) further envisages that the relevant service rules shall be deemed to be superseded to the extent of the provisions contemplated in the notified Government order under Rule 3(1). Thus it is the case of the Petitioners that once it is provided in the Government Order dated 20.12.2011 issued in furtherance of 2011, Rules that for the purpose of Absorption the Petitioners sought to be absorbed shall be treated as if they have been working in the establishment of U.P. Civil Secretariat itself and, therefore, all the services rendered by them in the establishment of the erstwhile U.P. Uptron India Ltd. and U.P. Civil Secretariat before absorption should be treated as service rendered in the establishment of U.P. Civil Secretariat for all service benefits.

(v) the petitioners have been subjected to discrimination vis a vis the other retrenched employees of Uptron absorbed much before 01.04.2005 in various departments/ Government owned corpora