Banerjee, J. - (1.) Redressal of grievances of the Cafeteria workers in Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Nainital by reason of an award of the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Haldwani, Uttar Pradesh and subsequent confirmation thereof by the High Court prompted the University to move this Court in Appeal against the same.
(2.) G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology established under U.P. Agricultural University Act, 1958 happens to be a residential University having about 14 hostels to provide accommodation to the students and a Cafeteria to provide food services to the residents of the hostels and others. There are about 170 employees working in these Cafeteria and these are the employees who claim regularisation of the services as regular employees of the University which, however, stands negated by the University authority. The records depict that by reason of refusal to accept such a claim, the disputes were referred under two separate References in terms of Section 4(k) of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Disputes Act in November, 1991 which were registered as Reference No. 141 of 1991 and 142 of 1991. The Labour Court upon acceptance of the claim of the employees in no uncertain terms found the entitlement of the employees of Cafeteria and declared the latter to be the regular employees of the University from the date of the award and held entitled to receive the same salary and other benefits as the other regular employees of the University. The University however, being aggrieved by the award moved two Writ Petitions by way of challenges to the two awards under Article 226 of the Constitution. The High Court also on a detailed scrutiny of the Regulations and other materials on record dismissed the writ petitions with an observation that the impugned awards of the Labour Court are perfectly justified in the facts and circumstances of the case and do not suffer from any error of law. It is this order which is under challenge in this Appeal being Civil Appeal No. 13087 of 1996 and 13089 of 1996 (G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Nainital v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others).
(3.) There cannot possibly be any doubt that socialistic concept of the society as laid down in Part III and IV of the Constitution ought to be implemented in the true spirit of the Constitution. Decisions are there of this Court galore wherein this Court on more occasions than one stated that democratic socialism aims to end poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality of opportunity. In D. S. Nakara's case, (1983) 1 SCC 305, as also lately in Secretary, H.S.E.B. v. Suresh, (1999) 3 SCC 601, the same has been well pronounced and we need not dilate on that score any further.;