IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.14299 of 2009 BASANT LAL & ORS Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS ----------- 2. 11.11.2009 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the State. Under a scheme of the State Government out sourced to a private agency M/s SARK System India Ltd. the petitioners were appointed on contract basis by the latter on specified terms and conditions, including deposit of security by them. The grievance is that their employer, the private person engaged by the Government to whom the work was out sourced was not paying their remuneration and the fixed payment on the security deposit, as stipulated at the time of appointment. Learned counsel for the petitioner sought to persuade this Court that notwithstanding the fact that their engagement may be by a private agency to whom Government had out sourced and notwithstanding the fact that the obligation to pay them was that of the private agency and not of the State Government, still in view of the concept of a Welfare State, the respondents State authorities cannot evade their obligation to ensure that payment is made to the petitioners. To this Court that is to far fetched a logic to entertain a writ application if the employer is a private agency, engaging the petitioners on contract merely because the agency was in a contract with the State authorities. That shall not vest jurisdiction in this Court to adjudicate the present writ application as a claim 2 for salary or non enforcement of the terms of contract vis-à-vis a private agency. For that the appropriate remedy of the petitioners would be before the Civil/Criminal forum under the general laws of the land. It appears from Annexure-6 that the State authorities have already cautioned the private agency to fulfil their obligations to those engaged by them as Government schemes were being hampered failing which the Government would be compelled to take necessary action against the private agency. At this stage, the Court considers it appropriate to take notice of the statement made at the bar that certain payments of the private agency have been withheld by the State Government and if that be the correct position and the petitioners represent before the State authorities, the State authorities after prior notice to the agency in question can certainly take appropriate steps as a Welfare State to ameliorate the grievances of the petitioners. The writ application is disposed with the aforesaid observations. P. Kumar (Navin Sinha, J.)