HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA WRI PETITION No.23136 of 2000 ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of respondent in issuing the letter No.12 (449)/EPS/98/296 dated 21.01.1999 refusing to pay arrears of Industrial Dearness Allowance payable to the petitioner, as being illegal and arbitrary and consequently sought for all consequential benefits. Brief facts of the case are that the petitioner has joined the services of the respondent-Corporation as Officer-Trainee on 11.01.1988 and after completion of his training, his services were confirmed as Drilling Engineer with effect from 11.01.1989. It is stated that the respondent-Corporation has accepted the resignation of the petitioner with effect from 07.10.1996. It is further stated that consequent upon the acceptance of his resignation, the respondent-Corporation has paid provident fund, family pension and gratuity, but, however, did not pay the arrears of Industrial Dearness Allowance, which works out to Rs.95,000/-. It is further stated that the petitioner has made several representations to the respondent- corporation requesting for payment of arrears of Industrial Dearness allowance payable to him. However, the respondent-Corporation by his letter dated 21.01.1999 informed the petitioner that the arrears will be released in a phased manner as the financial position of the respondent-corporation is not sound. It is further stated that the Industrial Dearness Allowance is liable to be paid by the respondent-Corporation and the fact of sustaining of loss by the corporation is immaterial and does not permit the respondent-Corporation for waiving the payment of said Industrial Dearness Allowance. A counter-affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondent-corporation contending that the respondent-corporation has been incurring huge and substantial losses during the last few years and in fact, the disinvestment commission recommended closure of the respondent-corporation. It is further contended that the issue pertaining to grant of revision of wages is purely an administrative and business decision taken by the respondent-corporation in its interest and the said decision taken by the respondent-corporation cannot be raised in this writ petition. It is further contended that the claim made in the present writ petition is for monetary relief and therefore the petitioner is not entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court and he can seek this nature of remedy before the competent Civil Court having jurisdiction. It is further contended that the question of paying any arrears will come into play only when the respondent-corporation announces revision of wages with retrospective effect from 01.01.1992 and in the absence of the same, the petitioner is not entitled to raise any claim and the same is liable to be rejected. Heard both sides. The respondent-corporation addressed a letter to the petitioner on 21.01.1999, which reads as under: “As regards payment of IDA arrears, it is intimated that revised scales of pay have been implemented with effect from 01.07.1997 and the arrears due on revised scale of pay cannot be paid at present in view of the difficult ways and means being faced by the company. However, release of arrears in the phased manner would be looked into after the corporation registers positive improvement in its physical and financial health in all respects and the accumulated losses are either wiped-out or written off by the Government of India. In view of the aforesaid position your request for payment of arrears as per revised IDA scale cannot be acceded to.” Apparently, the view expressed in the aforesaid letter appears to be somewhat absurd for the reason that difficult ways and means being faced by the respondent- company cannot be a ground to deprive the benefit of arrears of industrial dearness allowance to the petitioner. However, in the very same letter it was further observed that release of arrears in the phased manner would be looked into after the corporation registers positive improvement in its physical and financial health in all respects. In this view of the matter, it cannot be said that the respondent-company has totally refused to pay the arrears of Industrial Dearness Allowance to the petitioner. Therefore, I find no merit in this writ petition. The Writ Petition is accordingly dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. _____________________________ (GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA, J) 25-11-2010 Gsn.