W.P.(C) Nos.5080/2021 and 6060/2021

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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Judgment reserved on: 28.10.2021

Judgment pronounced on: 07.02.2022

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W.P.(C) 5080/2021, CM Nos.15548/2021 & 18754/2021

VIJAY KUMAR YADAV & ORS.

..... Petitioners

Through :

Mr Rajesh Mohan Sinha, Adv.

UNION OF INDIA AND ANR.

..... Respondents

Through:

Ms Maninder Acharya, Sr. Adv. with Mr

Om Prakash, Standing Counsel along

with Mr Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Mr

Anil Kapoor, Mr Viplav Acharya and Mr

Shikhar Kishore, Advs. for R-2/FCI. Ms

Saroj Bidawat, Adv for R-1/UOI.

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W.P.(C) 6060/2021 &CM No.19197/2021

RAJENDER SINGH & ORS.

..... Petitioners

Through :

Mr Rajesh Mohan Sinha, Adv.

UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

..... Respondents

Through:

Mr Om Prakash, Standing Counsel with

Mr Pradeep Kumar Tripathi and Mr Anil

Kapoor, Advs. for R-2 & 3/FCI. Ms Saroj

Bidawat, Adv for R-1/UOI.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR JUSTICE RAJIV SHAKDHER

HON'BLE MR JUSTICE TALWANT SINGH

[Court hearing convened via video-conferencing on account of COVID-19]

RAJIV SHAKDHER, J.

2022:DHC:482-DB

W.P.(C) Nos.5080/2021 and 6060/2021

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface: .................................................................................................................................................. 2

Background:-.............................................................................................................................. 5

Submissions on behalf of the petitioners:- ............................................................................... 11

Submissions on behalf of FCI .................................................................................................. 14

Analysis and reasons ................................................................................................................ 17

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 24

Preface:

1. Shorn of unnecessary details, the grievance which has impelled the

petitioners to approach this Court is briefly this:

1.1.

The petitioners, who are regular employees of respondent no.2 i.e., the

Food Corporation of India [hereafter referred to as “FCI”] apprehend being

transferred en bloc from FCI Food Storage Depots [in short “FSDs”] located at

Shakti Nagar and Mayapuri to depots located at Okhla and other locations.

1.2.

It is the petitioners’ case that both depots i.e., FCI FSDs located at Shakti

Nagar and Mayapuri, where they are presently located, have notifications issued

qua them, under Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation &Abolition)

Act, 1970 [in short “CLRA Act”]. Thus, according to the petitioners, once the

notification under Section 10 of the CLRA Act was issued, the FCI could not

have deployed contract labourin the aforementioned depots [i.e., FSD Shakti

Nagar and FSD Mayapuri], and therefore, in pursuing this course, FCI has

whittled down their legal rights, by attempting to redeploying/transferring them

en bloc to another depot.

1.3.

It is on account of this grievance that the petitioners have approached this

Court by way of the above-captioned writ petitions, to assail e-tender notice

no.4/2021 dated 01.03.2021 and e-tender notice no.5/2021 dated 23.06.2021.

2022:DHC:482-DB

W.P.(C) Nos.5080/2021 and 6060/2021

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Insofar as e-tender notice no.4/2021 is concerned, it is assailed in

W.P.(C)No.5080/2021, while e-tender notice no.5/2021 has been challenged in

W.P.(C)No.6060/2021.

2. At this stage, it would be relevant to note that after the matters were

reserved, an affidavit dated 29.10.2021 was filed in W.P.(C) No.6060/2021 on

behalf of FCI, stating that e-tender notice no.5/2021 dated 23.06.2021 had been

cancelled on 12.10.2021; an aspect which was alluded to across the bar in the

course of the hearing.

2.1

Given this