IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE ‘TBLLASPUR CHHATTISGARH M 2é , 1 Vi, WRIT PETITION” OF 2003 C f}a? /; Cement and Khadan Kamgar Sangh, Through its General Secretary, Shri Santram Devangan, S/o Late Shri D.P. Devangan, Aged about 51 years, Head Office—Mandhar Cement Factory, P.O. Mandhar, Disttr Raipur, Chhattisgarh. $mgte Bench PETITIONER VERSUS _ Union of India, Through iti Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Sector Undenakings, Udyog Bhawan, NEW DELHI. Cement Corporation of India, Through its Chairman cum Managing Director, Core 5, CGO Complex, 7,L0dhi Road, NEW DELHI. The General Manager, Mandhar Cement Factory, Cement Corporation of India, Mandhar, DISTT. Raipur (CG). The Board of Industrial Finance and Reconstruction, Through its Chairman, 22'“! Floor, Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, Tolstoy Marg, NEW DELHI. ..RESPONDENT’ x.“ RIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE“226/.227 OF THE CIONSTITUTH; - ‘ OE INDIA FOR ISSUANCE OF APPROPRIATE I ORDERS/DIRECTIONS/WRIT X . W \w HIGH COURT OF CHHA’ITISGARH AT BILASPUR > N Writ Petition No. 2126 of 2003 I \ l Petitioner Cement and Khadan Kamgar Sangh Versus Respondents Union. of India and others Post tbr order \Kx\ on 3 r‘ Uuly, 2006. r ,,A 7‘7“ _ Sd/~ ‘ Satish K. Agnihom' f l ‘ Judge \ i 1 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR Writ Petition No. 2126 of 2003 Petitioner Cement and Khadan Kamgar Sangh Versus Respondents Union of India and others SE: Hon’blc Mr. Justice Satish K. Agnihotri, J Shn' Pankaj Shrivastava, Advocate fer the 3311111 ne Shri S. K. Beriwal, Standing counsel for the respondent No. 1. Shri N. K. Vyas, Advocate for the mspondents No. 2 and 3. None for the mspondent No4. \\ 0 R D E R ( 3i‘5u1y, 2006) The following order of the Court was passed by Satish K. mihotrl, J. 1. The present writ petition is tiled in representative Capacity by the petitioner—Sangh, replesenting the interest of employees, who had opted for voluntaiy retirement scheme (VRS), seeking a relief that the respondents be directed to grant 50% additional exgmtia payment as per the circular dated 2.9.2002 (Annexme P/ 1) wherein it is clearly provided that 50% additional exgratia shall be allowed to the Wage Boaxd employees as to the employees in I.D.A. scale of pay. 50% additional exgxatia shall, however, be payable, provided they give an undertaking in their V.R. application that they Will not be eligible for any relief of Cement Wage Settlement dated 14.8.2000. On receipt of this 50% additional ex-gratia and payments of VRS being made shall be full and nnal settlement. Other terms and conditions of one time oEer, including last date for submission ofapplications up to 3.9.2002 remains unaltered. 2. The undisputed facts in nutshell ale {that the petitioner is an Association, registered under the Registration of Societies Act. The £332 members of the petitioner of the employees mspondent/Corporau'on having the Factories at Akaltara, Mandhar, Kurkutta, Nayagaon, Charkha Dadri etc. The Govt. of India/respondent No. 1 took a policy decision to Iationalize surplus manpower in the public sector unit and issued “CCI Voluntary retirement Scheme 2001” (VRS) by circular dated 7 3.2001 (Annexum P—6). The said scheme provided for payment of cx»gr211ia. As per para 5.0 of the scheme the payment of ex—gratia will be made to« the Willing employees opting for voluntary retirement uuder either scheme A or scheme B, which reads as under: - “5.0 Ex—GRATIA PAYABLE UNDER. THE SCHEME:- SCHEME-A (l) The employees requesting for Voluntary Retirement, subject to acceptance of the request by the competent authority shall be enn'tled to mceive ex-gran'a Payment equivalent to 45 days emoluments for each completed year of service or the monthly emoluments at the time of retirement multiplied by the balance months of service left before the normal date of retirement, whichever is less. (II) All those employees who have completed not less than 30 years of service will be eligible for a maximum of 6O months salary/wages as compensation. This will be subject to~ the amount nnt exceeding the salary/wages for the balance. period of service left (at the rate of monthly salzuyfwages at tb c time of Voluntary Reh'zement)‘ SCHEME-E The eligible employees requesting for Voluntary Retirement Subject to acceptance of the request by the competent authority shall be entitled to receive ex—gratia payment which will consist of salary of 35 days for each completed year of service and at the rate of 25 days for each year of balance period of service until superannuation. The compensau'on Will be subject to a minimum of Rs. 25,000/~ or 250 days salary, whichever is higher. However, this ex—grau'a payment shall not exceed the sum of salary that the employee would t in draw at the pmxiailing level for The balance period of service left before superannuation. NOTE: (a) Salmy/ Emoluments for the purpose of computation of ex—gatia shall consist of Basic Pay + DA only. (b) The calculation of Ex—grau'a would be based of evexy completed year of service of pan thereof. The ex—gratia for part of the year shall be computed of pre-rate basis based on nunlber of months completed. _ (c) In the event of pay tevision being sanctioned subsequent to Sepaxatioo on VR Ieh‘ospeciively, ex—gxatia will be recalculated on the basis of revised pay, and didexence paid. The afoxesaid ex-grau'a amount shall be in addition to their terminal benefits, which would be as under:- (j) The balance in PF account payable as per the ECEF Rules and Regulations. l (ii) Cash equivalent of accumulated leave as per the rules of the Corporation. (iii) Encasement of Causal Leave on pro—rata basis up to the date of release of employee in respect of only those who opt for Scheme ‘B’. (iv) Gratuity as per the Payment of Gratuity Act. (v) Notice pay for the shortfall in notice period of the month! three months,as applicable, if any. (vil The employees granted VR shall be entitled for TA for self and family and for transfer of household eh'ects as e ~ applicable in case of normal retirement age. Superannuation, for proceeding to home town or to the place Where the employee intends to settle down.” . The members of the petitioner-Sangh are Wage Board employees and are governed by various Wage Board Settlements dated 31.1.2002, 2.9.2002 and 14.8.2000. The members of petitioner Sangh opted for VRS up to 2.9.2002. In the meantime, the circular dt. 2.9.2002 (AnnexineP/ 1) came to be circulated for the beneht of employees of the respondent-Corporation which provided for grant f‘ X rw" 4 of 50% additional ax-gratia to Wage Board employees subject to an undertaking that said employees will not be entitled for any relief of implementation of Cement Wage Settlement dated 14.8.2000. The said circular is quoted here in below:- “Ref. No. 1 DR. 7(5) 2002 Dt. 02.9.02 Vide circular No. PD/ PP/ 1 (45)]2002/6320 Dt. 10.06.02 one time offer of voluntary retirement for the employees posted at N013 operating Units C.O. was issued; last date for submiesion of applications was extended nom time to time up to 03.09.02. In view of the decision awaited 00m the Ministiy of'Heavy Industries 85 Public Entelprises regarding eligibility of ADL 50% Ex—grau'a as per D.P.E. guidelines to wage Boald scale employees of CCL the Dept. of Heavy lndustly vide their letter No. 10(1)2001-PE—XII(Pt) Dt. 2.9.2002 has communicated that 50% Addl. Ex—gmtia shall be allowed to Wage Board employees as to the employees in IDA scale of payable application pay. The 50% Addl. Ex-grau‘a shall however be provided they give an undertaking in their V.R. that they will not be eligible for any relief on implementation of Cement Wage Settlement Dt. 14.8.2000 on receipt of this 50% Addl. Ex-giatia and payments of VRS being made shall be full and 01ml settlement other terms 86 conditions of one time oh‘er incl. last date for submissions of applications up to 03.9.02 remaining unaltexed. sw- (M.p. ,smha) GM (P a A)” . LeaJned counsel appearing the petitioner submitted that the Wage Board Settlement dated 14.8.2000 was implemented recently by letter dated 15.6.2006 (Annexure R—2/3). The members of the petitioner—Union are Wage Board employees and could not get the .relief under Wage Board Settlement dated 14.8.2000 till date. Leained counsel further submitted that the employees who had opted for VRS under the scheme 2001 are ready and Willing to i/i/ ’f, forgo the benefits available to them as per the wage board settlemant dated 14.8.2000 in view of the circular dated 2.9.2002. Accordingly, the employees are entitled to benefit of 50%) additional Ex—gratja as per the circular dated 2.9.2002. . On the contrary, Shn‘ N.K. Vyas, learned counsel appearing for the respondents No. 2 8t. 3 and Shri S.K. Beriwal, learned standing counsel appearing for respondent No. 1, submitted that those employees who have. been released by the PSU before the date of 6.11.2001 would not be entitled to the benefit of circular dated 2.9.2002. In the present case, the members of the petitioner-Sangh have been Ieleased before 6. 1 1.200 1. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and having pursued the records, it is evident that the circular dated 6. 1 1.2001 (Annexure R—2/3), Ielied on by the respondents that the said O.M. Was applicable only to those employees who were gianted pay scales at 1.1.1987 and 1.1.1992, called as IDA (industrial Dearness Pattern) employees. The dispute involved in the present case does not deal with the IDA schemes of 1.11.1987 and 1. 1. 1992 but the wage board employees who are governed by the Wage Board Settlements. This circular dated 2.9.2002, on plain reading, makes it clear that the employees who were to receive benetit under the Wage board settlement dated 14.8.2000 would he entitled to 50% additional ex-gratia, subject to undertaking that the said employees Would not be eligible for any relief on implementan'on of the Cement Wage Settlement dated 14.8.2000. The Wage Board Settlement dated 14.8.2000 has been implemented only vide order dated 15.6.2006, not before. The members of the petitioner-Sangh, before this Court are agreeable to give undertaking that the memberslemployees would not be eligible for any relief on implementation of the .M _..E¥n 1 l Cement Wagc Settlement and all the terms and conditions pmvided in circular dated 2.9.2002. . The respondents have raised the question of cut 011‘ date that the O.M. dated 6. 1.1.2001 provides for no bandit to those employees, who have opted. for VRS before 6. 11.2001. In the present case that O.M. has been held not to be applicable in the facts of the present case. As such, it is not necessary to go in to the question of fixing of cut oifdate for granting of benefits. . The cases cited by learned counsel for the respondents are not televant to the facts of the present case, as it is not the case, where the VRS scheme 2001 is under question and the petitioner-Sangh is asking for something more which. is not provided in the circular. The counsel for the respondents are also not contending that the benefits granted under the circular dated 2.9.2002 is not binding on the Corporation. Thus 50%) additional ex—gratia, as provided under 2.9.2002 is payable to all the Wage Boaxd Settlement employees, who have opted for VRS before 3.9.2002. . For the reasons stated above, the petition is allowed and the respondents are accmdingly directed. to grant 50% additional ex- gratia to the members of the petitioner-Sangh, who are governed by the Wage Board. Settlement dated 14.8.2000 and have made application for V.R.S. before 3.9.2002 in terms of the circular dated 2.9.2002. No order as to castes. Sd/— ‘ J $mkhlclumdmmi Judge Thakur y