- (1.) Heard Mr. Pranab Datta, learned senior Advocate, assisted by Mr. Naba Kumar Das, Learned Advocate, for the appellants-State and Mr. Soumya Majumder, learned Advocate, assisted by Tridip Chakraborty and Mr. Victor Chatterjee, learned Advocates for the respondents.
(2.) On going through the application and after hearing the learned Advocate for the appellants, we are satisfied that there was sufficient cause for condoning the delay of about 272 days in filing the appeal. The delay is condoned.
(3.) The brief history of the case is that the respondents/writ petitioners had challenged the Scheme for Financial Assistance to the workers in Locked Out Industrial Units published by the Government of West Bengal in the Calcutta Gazette dated 20th May, 1998 read with the Addendum to the aforesaid Scheme for Financial Assistance to the workers in Locked Out Industrial Units published by the Government of West Bengal in the Calcutta Gazette dated 4th June, 2015. The writ petition being WP No. 1109 of 2015 (Lakshmi Kanta & Anr. v. State of West Bengal & Anr.)was affirmed on 4th September, 2015. The writ petition was heard by the learned Single Judge and allowed by the order and judgment dated September 15, 2015, which was subsequently corrected by the order dated 13th January, 2016. While allowing the writ petition His Lordship held as follows:- There is indeed no plausible reason to treat tea workers and other workers differently. In my opinion, they are similarly placed during lock out, closure and suspension of work in the respective units. Hence, the State cannot bestow different kinds of benefit to different classes. of workers similarly situated. The notification appears to be discriminatory. It violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The Court cannot rewrite the policy of the Government. But it can strike it down on the ground of illegality. For the above reasons, the notification dated 4th June, 2015 is declared ultra vires the Constitution of India and quashed with a direction upon the State Government not to take a fresh decision within eight weeks from date on the basis of the observations above. This application is accordingly disposed of. Subsequently, the corrected order dated 13th January, 2016 reads as follows:- The order dated 15th September 2015 in WP No.1109 of 2015 is corrected by deleting the word not in the first line of the third page of the signed order so as to read as direction upon the State Government to take a fresh decision in place of direction upon the State Government not to take a fresh decision . Let the correction be incorporated in the said order dated 15th September, 2015. The decision by the State Government may be taken within eight weeks from the date of communication of this order. ;