S. C. Mathur, J. - (1.) THE ten petitioners seek a writ of Mandamus to command the U. P. State Road Transport Corporation and its officers to refrain from proceedings with recruitment to the post of cleaner and hammerman in persuance of the advertisement dated 23-8-1989 (Annexure No. 1).
(2.) THE petitioners' plea is that after selection they were appointed to class IV posts including the post of cleaner in the Corporation and they worked for more than 240 days whereafter their services were dispensed with. THE petitioners claim that they are retrenched employees of the Corporation. On 23-8-1989 the Corporation issued an advertisement inviting applications for making recruitment to 40 posts of cleaners and 30 posts of hammer-men. In this advertisement the minimum qualification which a candidate must possess has been indicated. THE minimum educational qualification prescribed is Junior High School/Class VIII. Apart from this qualification the candidate is also required to possess certificate from Industrial Training Institute in the related trade. THE petitioners admittedly do not posses the certificate and are, therefore, ineligible for the posts in question. THE petitioner's case, however, is that they are entitled to the benefit of section 6-Q of the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act and, therefore, they have a preferential right of consideration for the posts in question. It is also the petitioners' case that the qualifications now prescribed in the advertisement cannot be applied to them. The petition has been opposed on behalf of the opposite parties and a counter affidavit has been filed by Sri S. N. Singh, Service Manager of the Corporation In the counter affidavit the petitioners' claim that they worked in the Corporation for 240 days or more has been denied. A chart has been annexed to the counter affidavit as Annexure No. C-A-l indicating the period for which each of the petitioners worked in the Corporation. The initial appointment of the petitioners in the Corporation has also been assailed in the counter affidavit by stating that the appointment was made despite the ban on direct recruitment placed by the Corporation through circular dated 23-2-1982. Regarding the qualifications mentioned in the advertisement it has been stated that they have been prescribed by the Board of Directors. It is asserted that the opposite parties were fully competent to prescribe the qualifications mentioned in the advertisement. Section 6-Q of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 relied upon by the petitioners reads as follows :- "Where any workmen are retrenched, and the employer proposes to take into his employ any persons, he shall, in such manner as- may be prescribed give an opportunity to the retrenched workmen to offer themselves for reemployment, and the retrenched workmen who offer themselves for reemployment shall have preference over other persons." The first submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that under the above provision it was obligatory on the part of the Corporation to give opportunity to the petitioners to offer themselves for re-employment. According to the learned counsel this opportunity was not given to the petitioners and, therefore, the entire process of selection is vitiated.
(3.) THE submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners has been countered by the learned counsel for the Corporation who submits that the benefit of the above provision can be availed of only by those who have completed 240 days and who were retrenched in accordance with section 6-N of the Act. Learned counsel presses that in view of the fact that none of the petitioners had completed 240 days of service in the Corporation the above provision is not attracted in the present case. The Corporation's claim that the petitioners had not completed 240 days has not been accepted by the petitioners in their rejoinder affidavit. However it is not necessary to go into this question as on the facts of the present case the petitioners cannot claim consideration for re-employment as they admittedly do not possess the qualifications which have been prescribed by the corporation.;