Kamleshwar Nath - (1.) THIS is a petition to take action for contempt of Court against and to punish the opposite parties described above. By order dated 1.7-8-1983 the opposite parties were required to show cause as follows :- " Issue notice to the opposite parties requiring them to show cause why they may not be punished for committing contempt of this Court by not making payment of the petitioner's salary as directed in Court's judgment dated 31-3-1983 in Writ Petition No. 827 of 1980. Notice shall be returnable by 30-9-83 on which date the case shall be listed in Court. On the date fixed the opposite parties need not appear in person." The facts leading to this petition may be stated.
(2.) APPLICANT Sunil Kumar was working as Stenographer in the office of Executive Engineer under orders of the Superintending Engineer, Central Equipment and Stores Procurement Organisation (for short, the organization) of the Irrigation Department at Lucknow. In Writ Petition No. 827 of 1980 the applicant prayed, inter alia, for quashing of Annexure-4, an order dated 15-2-1980 of the Superintending Engineer on the basis of a direction of the Chief Engineer, by which he was reverted from his post in consequence of appointment of one Km. Kanchan Sharma at the post held by him. The order provided that in consequence of Km. Kanchan Sharma taking charge of the post of Stenographer, the applicant would be absorbed on the post of routine grade clerk in the organization. On 21-7-1980 an interim order was passed by this Court containing, inter alia, the following direction :- " The appointment of Km. Kanchan Sharma in place of the petitioner shall be subject to the result of the writ petition and in case the petitioner succeeds, he will of course, be allowed the difference, for the duty period between his salary as Stenographer and his salary as R. G. C. He will, therefore, in the meantime, discharge his duties as R. G. C. subject to the result of the writ petition. " By order dated 31-3-1983 the writ petition was allowed as follows :- " In the result, the petition is allowed with costs. The impugned order dated 15-2-1980, copy of which is Annexure-4 to the Writ Petition, is quashed. The petitioner shall be entitled to receive his salary and other consequential benefits. " On 4-4-1983 the applicant submitted joining report to opposite party no. 4 (Sri Girish Chandra, the then Executive Engineer of the Organization, who advised the applicant to approach the Superintending Engineer (Sri Shyam Behari Lal Gupta), Opposite party no. 2, because Km. Kanchan Sharma was already working on the Stenographer's post under the order of the Superintending Engineer. Consequently, the applicant submitted a joining report to opposite party no. 2 who accepted it on the same day. Till that stage, copy of this Courts judgment was not produced by the applicant who promised to do so when received. The applicant was not assigned any particular post.
(3.) ON 15-4-1983 the applicant submitted a copy of this Court's judgment to opposite party no. 2 with a request to take action in accordance with the judgment. Opposite party no. 2 then addressed a letter dated 20-4-1983, Annexure-4, to the Chief Engineer, N. C. Jain, opposite party no. 1, informing the latter that there was no vacant post of Stenographer and that the Chief Engineer may take appropriate action to comply with the orders of the High Court. ON 9-5-1983 oposite party no. 2 wrote a letter, Annexure-10 to the Secretary to Government in the Irrigation Department, with a copy to the Chief Engineer, Opposite party no. 1, mentioning that the Standing Counsel of the government had reported having submitted his opinion, about the decision of this Court, to the government and, therefore, Opposite party no. 2, wanted to know the government's decision on the question of an appeal against the order of this Court, so that a decision might be taken on the question of the applicant's joining a post. ON 28-5-1983 Opposite party no. 1 passed an order, Annexure-12, transferring Km. Kanchan Sharma to the post of Stenographer in the Material Management Cell of the office of the Superintending Engineer and directed the applicant to join on the Stenographer's post held by the lady. Accordingly, on that very day the applicant took charge of the Stenographer's said post in the office of the Executive Engineer, Opposite party no. 4 of the Organization. It appears that subsequently on 23-6-83 the Chief Engineer transferred the applicant to the Stenographer's post in the Material Management Cell of the office of Superintending Engineer, but the applicant appears to have proceeded on medical leave on 24-6-1983. By order dated 2-7-1983 the Opposite party no. 2 called upon the applicant to report for joining at the Stenographer's post in the Material Management Cell vide Annexure-16 and informed the applicant that he was treated as relieved with effect, from 24-6-1983 from the Stenographer's post in the Organization. The applicant consequently joined on the new post on 2-7-1983, but on 8-7-1983 he made an application to the Chief Engineer, vide Annexure-17, for payment of his salary and about his transfer. It must be mentioned at this stage that this Court has not called upon the opposite parties to show cause the grievances of the applicant in respect of his delayed posting or transfer from the post. The show-cause notice is confined to the non-compliance of this Court's order insofar as the question of payment of the applicant's salary is concerned. The first application by the applicant for payment of his salary is letter dated 30-4-1983, Annexure-7 ; addressed to Opposite party no. 2, wherein he had asked for payment of his salary for the month of April 1983. The next letter for payment of salary by him is dated 2-6-1983, Annexure 14-A, addressed to Opposite party no. 2, where again he demanded salary for the months of April and May 1983. Opposite party no. 2 was transferred some time after 2-7-1983 ; his successor-in-office, Opposite party no. 3 Sri M. L. Sahdev, took charge on 8-7-1983.;