Avas Vikas Sansthan & Anr vs Avas Vikas Sansthan Engineers Assn. & ...

Facts in brief:

The AVS was brought into existence as a result of the Scheme formulated by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation, New Delhi, to set up chain of building centres in the State of Rajasthan.

Appellant No.2 the Rajasthan Housing Board sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1-5 lakhs per building centre and provided land free of cost for setting up of 9 such centres in Rajasthan. The AVS was to raise its own resources; the State Government or the Rajasthan Housing Board did not have any control over the AVS. The AVS had employed the respondents.

The AVS started functioning in the year 1989, but in the year 1997, it began to incur heavy losses and could not pay its employees their salaries after 01.12.1998. The Rajasthan Government decided that, in view of the financial and administrative conditions of the AVS, it should be dissolved and the State Government directed the appellant-the Rajasthan Housing Board to take immediate steps to liquidate the AVS. The State Government also directed that the employees of the AVS would be adjusted on priority on the vacant posts of Municipal Boards, Municipal Councils, Jaipur Development Authority and other local bodies whenever posts fell vacant on the retirement of the employees of such local bodies. By the resolution of the AVS dated 26.03.1999, the AVS was dissolved.

The respondents (employees), feeling that their services might be terminated, filed a writ petition in the High Court on 26.03.1999, made the following averments:

Feeling aggrieved, the Rajasthan Housing Board, the AVS and the State Government preferred appeals before the Division Bench of the High Court.

The Division Bench disposed of all the appeals by the impugned order. The Division Bench maintained the direction to pay unpaid salary. The direction to constitute a Low Cost Housing Centre and the quashing of State Government decision to provide alternate employment was set aside. However, the Division Bench on the appeal filed by the employees directed grant of following benefits:

vi) certain employees including Brijesh Kumar Goel and R.K.Saini who were working at Latur Project in Maharashtra were also entitled to alternative employment in local bodies.

On the question of Pay Protection and for counting services rendered in the AVS for pension and other retiral benefits claimed by the respondents, the arguments put forward by the appellant was that on facts the Cabinet decision of 18-05-1999 specifically states that "no pay protection should be granted to the employees", the same was conveyed by the Rajasthan Housing Board letter dated 01-06-1999. This decision was taken after considering the views of the Finance Department. So also the undertaking by the employees when they were absorbed into other local bodies had the same stipulation, therefore at this later stage such pay protection and counting of services for pension and other retiral benefits cannot be claimed for.

With regard to 604 employees of the AVS, it was argued that the State of Rajasthan had no legal obligation to offer alternative employment to the erstwhile employees of the AVS. But the State of Rajasthan in all fairness did frame a scheme and offered employment in other local bodies of the government. Thus, the terms and conditions of such alternative employment cannot be challenged. We are of the opinion, that the decision of the High Court granting relief of reemployment with pay protection, seniority and pension is erroneous. We, therefore, direct the State of Rajasthan to strictly adhere to and implement its decision to offer employment in other local bodies in letter and spirit.

As regards the question of whether Rajasthan Housing Board can be considered 'State' under Article 12 of the Constitution, no serious arguments were made by either counsel for the parties and, therefore, we are not expressing any opinion on the same and decide the other issues on the basis of the arguments advanced.

FAIRNESS IN ACTION:

So also all these employees have given undertaking not to raise any dispute in the matter. Thus this contention is untenable and is liable to be rejected.

For the foregoing reasons, the impugned judgments of the High Court are set aside and we hold that all the civil appeals filed by the Rajasthan Housing Board, the AVS and the State of Rajasthan are allowed. The Civil Appeals filed by the employees stand dismissed. No costs.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5338 OF 2004 State of Rajasthan .. Appellant (s) Versus Radha Krishan Karwashra & Ors. .. Respondent (s) WITH CIVIL APPEAL NOS. 5340-41/2004 ORDER It was submitted by Mr. Badridas Sharma, learned counsel for the appellants, that the above appeals are of an entirely different type in which the respondent had challenged the order dated 25.04.1998 of the Avas Vikas Sansthan and by that letter/order, it was pointed out that 10 employees including Mr. Radha Krishan Karwashra had not accepted to join and do the alternative work offered to them and, therefore, those persons were treated as no more in the service of the Avas Vikas Sansthan. That the order of 25.04.1998 was not at all related to dismissal of service of employees as a result of dissolution of the Society. It was submitted that the writ petitions challenging the said order dated 25.04.1998 are still pending in the High Court at Jaipur in writ petition Nos. 5370/1998 and 5383/1998. Since this fact was pointed out by Mr. Badridas Sharma during the time of hearing of these appeals, we do not consider the merits of the claim made in this appeal. In view of this, the above appeals are delinked from the batch of appeals in Civil Appeal Nos. 5302/2004 etc. etc. and disposed of accordingly. Both parties are at liberty to pursue the pending writ petitions before the High Court in accordance with law. No costs.