State Of West Bengal & Anr vs Kamala Prasad & Ors

3. Writ petitioners, employees of Bhowanipore Education Society College, Kolkata, a private college recognized and aided by the Government of West Bengal, had initially filed a Civil Suit TS No. 2 86/1984 before the Third Additional Munsiff Court, Alipore, seeking a declaration that they are Laboratory Assistants, belonging to the category of Class-III employees entitled to the benefits and privileges attached to those posts and also for a mandatory injunction directing the defendants to pay all monetary benefits with effect from 03.10.1975 treating them as Class-III employees and also for a declaration that their demotion to class IV posts is illegal and void. The College and the appellants herein were parties to the suit.

5. Some of the decree holders instead of filing an execution petition preferred to file a Writ Petition CO No.8472 (M) of 1995 before the Calcutta High Court for a direction to the appellants herein to treat them as Class-III employees as declared by the Civil Court and pay them salary and other benefits and some others approached the execution 3 court by filing T. Ex. Case No.2/1997 for executing the decree. Appellants herein also preferred Miscellaneous Case No.18/2000 in the above execution petition challenging the executability of the decree passed in TS No.86/1984 contending that the executing court did not have the jurisdiction to execute the decree. The Miscellaneous Case No.18/2000 was allowed by the executing court holding that the decree passed in TS No.86/1984 was not executable and that the executing court did not have the jurisdiction to execute the decree. It held that a private employer's action cannot be questioned by the employees in a civil court having regard to Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 and Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code. The order was challenged before the Calcutta High Court in revision with an application for condonation of delay but the delay was not condoned and hence the appeal was dismissed on 08.12.2003.

7. The 3rd respondent herein, in the meantime, had filed a writ petition No.5345 of 2000 claiming monetary benefits available to Class- III employees, which was disposed of by the Calcutta High Court on 06.06.2000 directing the authorities to consider his request and pass appropriate orders, however his request was rejected by the appellants in the month of September 2000.

8. The respondent Nos. 1 and 2 herein then filed a writ petition no.15360(W) of 2000 which was re-numbered as WP(Crl.) 7002(W) of 2002 before the Calcutta High Court to treat them as Class-III employees based on the declaration made in TS No.86/1984 and to pay them the salary and other benefits in the revised scale and also for other consequential benefits. The writ petition was heard along with C.O. No. 8472 of 1995 by a learned single judge of the Calcutta High Court who took the view that the appellants herein are legally bound by the declaration made by the Civil Court that the respondents are Class- III employees and the same is binding on the State Government. Holding so, both the writ petitions were disposed of by the learned single judge on 19th December, 2005 directing the State Government and its authorities to grant relief to the respondents by treating them as Class-III employees as declared by the Civil Court and pay them all consequential benefits with retrospective effect. 5

14. We, therefore, find no error in the direction given by the High Court. Appeals lack merits and, are, accordingly dismissed.

February 16, 2010