LPA No. 1225 of 2014 in CWJC No. 22327 of 2013. Case: Saryu Singh Vs The Union of India and Ors.. High Court of Patna (India)
| Case Number | LPA No. 1225 of 2014 in CWJC No. 22327 of 2013 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: Ravi Shankar Ganguli, Abhi Sarkar, Asif Kalim and Pankaj Kumar, Advs.and For Respondents: Sanjay Kumar and V.M.K. Sinha, Advs. |
| Judges | I.A. Ansari, Actg. C.J. and S.P. Singh, J. |
| Issue | Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) - Sections 20, 20(c), 52, 52(1), 52(2); Constitution of India - Articles 226, 226(2), 32 |
| Citation | 2015 (2) PLJR 256 |
| Judgement Date | December 17, 2014 |
| Court | High Court of Patna (India) |
Order:
I.A. Ansari, Actg. C.J.
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This is an appeal against order, dated 2.7.2014, passed, in CWJC No. 22327 of 2013, by a learned Single Judge of this Court, whereby the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition on the grounds that (i) no assistance was rendered, in the writ proceedings, on behalf of the writ petitioner-appellant herein, and (ii) the writ petition lacks territorial jurisdiction as no cause of action had arisen within the territorial limits of the jurisdiction of this Court. Aggrieved by the dismissal of his writ petition, this appeal has been preferred by the writ petitioner.
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The material facts, giving rise to the writ petition, may, in brief, be set out as under:--
(i) The State Collieries, spread over several States of India, was earlier run directly by the Ministry of Production, Government of India, and Kargali Collieries, in the district of Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), was one of the units of the State Collieries of the Government of India within the territorial limits of the erstwhile State of Bihar.
(ii) The writ petitioner was appointed, at Kargali (Hazaribagh), as Assistant Law Officer by the then Ministry of Production, Government of India, with effect from 1.1.1954, in the Central Pay Commission Scale approved by the Government of India and guided by the Central Civil Rules.
(iii) During the service tenure of the writ petitioner, he was transferred to the National Coal Development Corporation Limited, which announced that the scale of pay, recommended by the 3rd Central Pay Commission, would be applied, with effect from 1.1.1973, by the National Coal Development Corporation Limited, as approved by the Government of India, vide letter No. NCDC/3rdCPC office/75, dated 27.5.1975, and the name of the writ petitioner figured at serial No. 56 in the list of employees issued in this regard.
(iv) Thereafter, the Central Coalfields Limited, which was formerly known as National Coal Development Corporation Limited, announced, on 11.5.1987, implementation of revised 4th Central Pay Commission pay scale, as approved by the Government of India, with effect from 1.1.1986, by letter No. 2 PM(A)/EE/Excentince/DA/VDA/87/10919-104.
(v) The writ petitioner was promoted to the post of Deputy Chief Legal Manager, in the revised 4th Central Pay Commission pay scale of Rs. 4100-5300/- vide Office Order No. C-5A(iii)/51791/(PT)/1082, dated 27.10.1987, issued by the Coal India Limited, Kolkata, and the writ petitioner was posted at Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, Kolkata, by order passed, in this regard, on 26.12.1987. The writ petitioner, accordingly, joined the Head Office of Northern Coal-field Limited, Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh) on 28.12.1987.
(vi) Later on, the writ petitioner discovered that in the Office Order No. C-5A(iii)/51791/(PT)/1082, dated 27.10.1987, issued by the Coal India Limited, Kolkata, in place of Central Pay Commission scale of pay, replacement/BP scale of pay was, inadvertently, mentioned, whereupon the writ petitioner filed a representation to the Personnel Department of Northern Coal-field Limited requesting them to approach Coal India Limited, Kolkata, for necessary amendment in the said Office Order. Thereafter, the said Office Order was amended vide letter No. C-5A(iii)/5199(/(PT)/867, dated 21.7.1988, and the scale of pay of the writ petitioner was fixed at Rs. 4100-125-4850-150-5300/-.
(vii) The writ petitioner superannuated, on 30.4.1990, from the post of Deputy Chief Legal Manager in Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli, and the pension of the writ petitioner was fixed at Rs. 2,332/- in terms of the 4th Central Pay Commission scale of pay of Rs. 4100-5300/-. The writ petitioner, accordingly, started submitting his pension bills and the pension bills, so submitted, were also honoured by the Northern Coalfield Limited.
(viii) The writ petitioner had to submit his pension bill each month. The writ petitioner requested Northern Coalfield Limited to provide him the copies of the relevant notifications, issued by the Government of India, on the subject of pension, so as to enable him to raise, within time, correct pension bills. Though the copies of the notifications, on being received by the Coal India Limited, Kolkata, were circulated among all its subsidiaries for implementation thereof, no copy of the said notifications was ever supplied to the writ petitioner.
(ix) The writ petitioner, on hearing the announcement of the 4th Central Pay Commission Report, as approved by the Government of India with effect from 1.1.1996, requested, a number of times, the Personnel Department and Accounts Department of the Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli, to provide a copy of the relevant notification of the Government of India; but no attention was paid to the requests of the writ petitioner. At last, the writ petitioner approached the Personnel Department of the Central Coalfield Limited, Ranchi, and obtained therefrom a copy of the Government Notification No. 45/86/91 P & PW(A) P.t. II, dated 27.10.1997, implementing the 5th Central Pay Commission Report, with effect from 1.1.1996, with an Office Memorandum No. CIL/C-5A (VI)/50708/5th CPC/76, dated 19.5.1998, whereunder the notification, dated 27.10.1997, was circulated among all the subsidiaries of the Coal India Limited, including Northern Coalfield Limited, for implementation of the recommendation of the 5th Central Pay Commission.
(x) The writ petitioner represented himself before the Accounts Department of the Northern Coalfield Limited for implementation of the 5th Central Pay Commission's recommendations with regard to the fixation of pension of the writ petitioner.
(xi) As the writ petitioner stood superannuated, the Northern Coalfield Limited was required to issue pension bills. The writ petitioner, therefore, started preparing pension bills as per the direction contained in the Notification No. 45/86/91 P & PW(A) Pt. II, dated 27.10.1997. Based on the chart attached to the said Notification, the pension of the writ petitioner was fixed at Rs. 6,139/- in place of Rs. 2332/-, as per the 5th Central Pay Commission's recommendations, with effect from 1.1.1996.
(xii) Subsequent to the writ petitioner's raising of pension bills on the basis of the Notification No. 45/86/91 P&PW(A) Pt. II, dated 27.10.1997, applying the 5th Central Pay Commission's recommendations with effect from 1.1.1996, the writ petitioner came to know about the Notification No. 45/10/98-P & PW(A), dated 17.12.1998, whereby it was clarified that pension of all pensioners, irrespective of their dates of retirement, shall not be less than 50 per cent of the minimum pay in the revised scale of pay introduced with effect from 1.1.1996. By the said notification, the Government of India amended the provisions of the 5th Central Pay Commission as implemented vide notification No. 45/86/91 P & PW(A) Pt. II, dated 27.10.1997.
(xiii) In the meantime, the Central Government approved the report of the 6th Central Pay Commission, vide notification No. 38/37/08-P&PW(A), dated 1.9.2006, with effect from 1.1.2006. Subsequent to the publication of the notification, dated 1.9.2006, aforementioned, the pay scale of the writ petitioner was fixed at Rs. 13,876/- in place of Rs. 6,139/- (as per the 5th Central Pay Commission's report). The writ petitioner, having no knowledge of the notification No. 45/10/98-P&PW(A), dated 17.12.1998, prepared his pension bills according to the chart attached to the 6th Central Pay Commission's report. It was also discovered by the writ petitioner that the entire clearness allowance, paid to the writ petitioner between 1.1.2006 and 1.1.2008, had been adjusted, which was contrary to the notification No. 42/2/2008-P&PW(G):, dated 12.9.2008, inasmuch as the notification, dated 12.9.2008, aforementioned envisaged that the payment of clearness allowance, covered by the said Notification, shall be made after adjusting the installments of enhanced clearness allowance already paid to the pensioners between 1.1.2006 and 1.1.2008.
(xiv) Thereafter, the writ petitioner made a representation to the Finance Manager, Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli, stating therein, inter alia, that the entire clearness allowance, paid to him, had wrongly been adjusted, vide Office Order No. NCL/EE/PFile/09/2481, dated 5.2.2009, issued by Managing Director, Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli.
(xv) With regard to the above, when the writ petitioner raised his grievances before the officials of the Central Government, he came to know that long ago, a decision had already been taken by the Central Government, in respect of the 5th Central Pay Commission's report, that the pensioners would receive their pension as per the notional pay, i.e., 50 per cent of minimum of the revised scale of pay corresponding to the scale of pay on which the pensioners had retired.
(xvi) Thereafter, the writ petitioner, on 1.4.2009, wrote a letter to the Managing Director, Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli, demanding payment of pension based on the notional pay and to furnish to the writ petitioner a copy of the relevant decision of the Government of India. The Managing Director, Northern Coal-field Limited, Singrauli, did not, however, pay any heed to the letter of the writ petitioner.
(xvii) The writ petitioner, thereafter, obtained a copy of the notification No. 38/37/08-P&PW(A) Pt. I, dated 14.10.2008, whereby the Central Government had clarified the manner of fixation of pension in respect of pre-1996 and post-2006 scales of pay and in terms of this notification, the correct pension of the writ petitioner would be Rs. 7,150/- as per the report of the 5th Central Pay Commission and Rs. 23,050/- as per the 6th Central Pay Commission's report.
(xviii) The writ petitioner, therefore, requested, on several occasions, the Managing Director, Northern Coalfield Limited, Singrauli, enclosing, therewith, a copy of...
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