IMPORTANT POINT
Back wages is independent of reinstatement.

JUDGMENT

D.K. Jain, J. —

1.Leave granted.

2.Since a common issue is involved in both the appeals, these are being disposed of by this judgment.

3.The appeals are directed against two separate judgments rendered by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, upholding the Awards of: Labour Court (4) Kanpur in I.D. No.70 of 1997 and Industrial Tribunal (3) Kanpur in I.D. No.46 of 1997, collectively referred to as “the adjudicatory authority”, whereby the appellant had been directed to reinstate the respective respondents - namely, Shamim Mirza and Manoj Srivastava, the two workmen, with full back wages and continuity in service.

4.The appellant-company was constituted by the U.P. State Government under Section 5 of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 and was charged with several duties, as enumerated under Section 18 of the said Act, in relation to generation, transmission and distribution of electricity within the State. The appellant opened various cash centres in different divisions and sub-divisions for collection of electricity bills and for the said purpose, invited tenders for installation of Bradma Machines on contract basis. One such contract was awarded to M/s Vivek and Associates in the year 1995. Under the agreed terms and conditions, the machines were to be operated by the said concern, through its employees, for which it was to be paid Rs.175/- per day, per machine. The contract is stated to have continued till the year 1997.

5.Both the respondent-workmen raised an industrial dispute, alleging that their services had been illegally terminated by the appellant. Accordingly, the State Government referred, under Section 4K of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short ‘the Act’), the following dispute i.e. I.D. No.70 of 1997 for adjudication:

“Details of Industrial Dispute

Whether removal/termination of services of the workman Shri Shamim Mirza, son of Shri Atiq Mirza, Cashier, w.e.f. 2.9.1996 by the Management is legal and justified? If not, to which relief/consequential benefits and from which date, the workman concerned is entitled to?”

(Except for change of name of the workman and date of termination of his services, the dispute referred in I.D. No.46 of 1997 was on similar lines.)

6.The case of the workmen in nutshell was that: they had been appointed as cashiers at two sub-stations when the appellant had adopted the policy of centralisation of all the 16-17 sub-stations for the purposes of collection of electricity bills; several new appointments were made for operating these new machines; before their appointment as cashiers, they were all given six months training for this work; apart from collecting the electricity bills, they were also depositing the cash so collected in the Treasury in Chief Office as per the instructions of the Assistant Engineer (D); suddenly their services were terminated without assigning any reason and without giving any notice to them whereas persons junior to them were still working on the posts of cashiers. Their plea was that since the termination of their services was in violation of the provisions contained in Sections 6N, 6P & 6Q of the Act, they were entitled to be reinstated with continuity in service and with full back wages.

7.In the written statement filed before the adjudicatory authority, the stand of the appellant - management was that there was no relationship of employer and employee between them and the applicants and hence the dispute was not an industrial dispute; the post of the cashier was a promotion post which could be filled up by promotion from the cadre of assistant cashier; the cash centres were opened in various divisions and sub-divisions for the convenience of the consumers for depositing their electricity bills; tenders were invited for installing Bradma Machines in these centres on contract basis; the tender was awarded in favour of Vivek and Associates for the period from 1st July, 1995 to 30th June, 1996 which period was later extended upto 31st July, 1997