- (1.) The writ petition is at the instance of the United Industrial Bank Austhayee Adhastan (DRP) Karmachari Samity through its general secretary, the petitioner No. 2 herein, for direction upon the Allahabad Bank to employ and absorb the daily rated persons in terms of the scheme for amalgamation and several orders passed in a different writ petitions initiated in this regard. The genesis of the dispute originated from the scheme of amalgamation sanctioned by the Central Government under Sub-Section 7 of Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 for merger of the United Industrial Bank Limited (UIBL) with the Allahabad Bank. The scheme for merger and/or amalgamation was sanctioned on an application made by the Reserve Bank of India under Sub-Section 1 of Section 45 of the said Act which was duly notified in the extraordinary Gazette of India. It is not necessary to narrate the said scheme in extenso for the present purposes, Paragraph 10 thereof is relevant which contains the right of an employee of the UBI to continue in service with the Allahabad Bank at the same remuneration and on the same terms and condition of service as were applicable to such employees immediately before the closure of business on 10th June, 1989. The said Paragraph contains two provisos relating to the payment of compensation firstly the employee of the UIBL conveying their intention of not becoming an employee of the Allahabad Bank secondly retrenchment compensation in the event the employee of the UIBL is retrenched while in service of the Allahabad Bank. So far as the regular and permanent employee of the UIBL is concerned, there was no dispute that they come within the purview of Paragraph 10 of the said scheme of amalgamation but the dispute arose relating to the various casual labourers/daily rated peons of the UIBL relating to their absorption and/or employment with the Allahabad Bank. A writ petition was initiated before this Court by an Union of some of the casual labourers/daily rated peons i.e. UIB Austhayee Adhastan (DRI) Karmachary Samity in which two applications were made for addition of parties and the writ petition was disposed of with a direction upon the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central), Calcutta to recommence the Conciliation Proceeding forthwith and to submit the report to the appropriate Government. It was further observed that if the Allahabad Bank requires services on temporary basis of any person in the post of Peon/Farash, they are to requisition the services of the people from the list of 582 persons as forwarded by the Allahabad Bank to the said Union. The Central Government, thereafter, issued an order of reference as to whether the said 592 daily rated peons engaged in 1978 by the UIBL are entitled to be absorbed in service of the Allahabad Bank in terms of the scheme of amalgamation duly notified on October 30, 1989 by the Government of India. Pursuant to the said reference, an award is passed by the tribunal under Section 10 of the Industrial Dispute Act and the writ petitioner has relied upon the observation made in Paragraph 38 which reads thus: 38. On the basis as above, it cannot be denied that those DRPs who, if at all, were on the material date of the said Scheme Ext. w-7 or the coming into operation thereof on October 31, 1989, were on the Roll of DRPs of the said Bank, can certainly claim employment as such, under the said Transferee Bank and no one else. As such, the names of the said DRPs, which will appear from Ext.M-15 and evidenced to have completed 240 days of service in a year on or before the date as indicate, will be entitled to be employed as such DRPs, subject of course to the availability of work, which I am sure, in a vast organization, a Nationalized Bank like the said Transferee Bank, will be available; necessary and required in their Branches all over India. It should be noted that in terms of the decision in , : 1991 (I) LLJ 155, actual working for 240 days in one year will be sufficient and that will not mean continuous employment for 240 days.
(2.) In Paragraph 42 of the said award, it is specifically recorded that the Allahabad Bank has not disputed or acted contrary to the directions of the Hon'ble High Court as they participated in the Conciliation Proceeding through out. Subsequently, the Allahabad Bank advertised in the newspaper for recruitment of the full time Peon- cum- Farash/full time Sweeper from the persons engaged on temporary full time basis during the period from 01.01.1982 to 31.10.1992 and also the persons who were engaged prior to 01.01.1982 and continued thereafter, subject to their suitability and fulfillment of the conditions incorporated therein. The petitioner No. 1 challenged the said action of the Allahabad Bank in conducting a Recruitment Process in C.R. No. 9139 (w) of 1993 and the Hon'ble Single Judge at the time of entertaining the said writ petition directed that the election process shall continue but no appointment shall be given without the leave of the Court. The other writ petition was filed by Allahabad Bank Workers Union being Matter No. 879 of 1994 challenging the self-same recruitment process on the plea that the said recruitment process should have been restricted to 592 daily rated peons whose services were utilized initially by UIBL but the Allahabad Bank is allowing some outsider candidate to participate in the said selection process. Both the writ petitions were heard analogously and by a common judgment were disposed of. It was expressly observed that the Allahabad Bank would first complete the recruitment process relating to the absorption of 592 daily rated persons mentioned in the order of reference and thereafter, shall take steps for selection of the other candidates on the basis of the results published in respect of the examination already held. The Court further directed that the cases of outside candidates are to be considered only when the claim for direct absorption of 592 daily rated peons mentioned in Paragraph 38 of the award had been duly considered. The petitioner No. 1 filed another writ petition being W.P. No. 1469 of 2002 claiming that a comprehensive proposal which was communicated to the Central Government by the Allahabad Bank in respect of the absorption of temporary employees who worked more than 90 days but less than 240 days has not been finalised. It is relevant to quote the prayers made therein which reads thus: (a) A writ of or in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondents: i) to finalise the process of examination of the comprehensive proposal for absorption of remaining employees who worked for more than 90 days and less than 240 days in United Industrial Bank and convey the final decision within the earliest possible time as indicated in this letter of Hon'ble Finance Minister (Annexure "p-4"); ii) to provide employment for a minimum period of six months at a stretch or in installments to the petitioner till finalisation of cases of absorption; (b) A writ of or in the nature of Certiorari, directing the respondents to certify and submit the documents of this case before the Registrar of this Hon'ble Court; (c) A writ of or in the nature of prohibition, prohibiting the respondents and each of their servants, agents and employees to fill up any vacancy temporarily or permanently till the petitioners are appointed temporarily for a period of six months in a year and thereafter finalization of cases of permanent absorption of the petitioner.
(3.) At the time of admitting the writ petition, the Court restricted the writ petition to prayer a(i) meaning thereby the other prayer i.e. a(ii) to (c) of the writ petition were denied. The Court records the averment made in Paragraph 8 of the affidavit affirmed by Mr. Anthroyose Thomas under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Finance and Company Affairs (Banking Division) that the Bank had made a comprehensive proposal before the Central Government for absorption of the remaining employees of the erstwhile UIBL and the matter was examined by the Banking Condition, Ministry of Finance and the final decision shall be conveyed in due time. The Court disposed of the said writ petition with a direction upon the Union of India to convey to the Bank its final decision on comprehensive proposal within 8 weeks from the date of the communication of the order. The decision was communicated to the Bank by the Union of India under Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services dated 09.09.2009 indicating that the daily rated peons who did not participate in the written test are thus in eligible for absorption.;