- (1.) THESE two appeals arise out of two suits filed by two sets of plaintiffs against the Hindusthan Steel ltd. The plaintiffs are the employees of the Central Sales Organisation, a unit under Hindusthan Steel Ltd. They filed the two suits for a declaration that they are entitled to get seniority from the date of their joining service under the Hindusthan Steel Ltd. The plaintiffs in Title Suit No. 748 of 1972 joined the Durgapur Unit of the Hindusthan steel Ltd. and the plaintiffs in Title suit No. 758 of 1972 joined the Rourkela Steel Plant and Coal Washery project under the Hindusthan Steel ltd. They alleged that their seniority should be counted from the date on which they joined their service in the respective units under the Hindusthan steel Ltd. and not from the date on which they joined on transfer, the Central Sales Organisation, which is also another unit under the Hindusthan steel Ltd. The plaintiff's also prayed for a permanent injunction restraining their employer the Hindusthan Steel Ltd from ignoring their seniority and also for a mandatory injunction directing the Hindusthan Steel Ltd. to give effect to the said seniority of the plaintiffs.
(2.) THE plaintiffs in the two suits made similar allegations in their respective plaints. The allegations made by the plaintiffs are as follows : Hindusthan Steel Ltd. is a Government of india undertaking having its Head Office at Ranchi and it consists of Steel Plants at Durgapur, Bhilai and Rourkela with one Alloy Steel Plant, one fertilizer plant and Coal Washery. It has also its office, namely, Central Sales Organisation at Calcutta. It was alleged that each plant has one General Manager at its Head and he is the Supreme Administrative Authority. According to the rules of the Hindusthan Steel Ltd. the employees are inter changeable or transferable. The plaintiffs in one case were appointed at the Durgapur unit on different dates at a certain scale of pay and the plaintiffs in the other suit were appointed at the Rourkela Steel Plant cm different dates at a certain scale of pay. The plaintiffs worked satisfactorily in their respective places of appointment and their seniority was recorded in the respective units from time to time. By a circular dated 29th December, 1969, under the signature of P. C. Koar for Personnel Manager, Durgapur plant, intimation was given that the the administrative officer, Hindusthan steel Ltd. Sales Office, invited applications from Assistants (Typists), assistants (S/t), for parallel transfer initially to be posted at the Central Sales organisation at Calcutta, but subsequently they may be posted at the branch office of the Organisation. The plaintiffs and other employees applied for parallel transfer to the Central sales Organisation in Calcutta. About 28 employees including the plaintiffs were selected from the Durgapur Steel plaint. The Personnel Manager, Durgapur Steel Plant unilaterally and arbitrarily imposed certain illegal and oppressive terms of transfer, which were not contemplated before, at the time of issuing the circular. The said terms are that the employees shall be treated as on transfer for their purposes but their eligibility for their seniority in the Sales Office will be considered only with reference to the date they join the sales Office. It was alleged that the plaintiffs were forced to submit to this illegal and malafide position. It was further alleged that plaintiffs believed that the defendant would eventually relax the above mentioned arbitrary condition and their seniority would be counted from the date of their initial appointment under the Hindusthan steel Ltd. The defendant however stuck to the above mentioned arbitrary and illegal condition and hence the plaintiffs were compelled to file the suit.
(3.) THE plaintiffs in Title Suit No. 748 of 1972 who were initially appointed in the Durgapur Steel Plant were given to understand before joining the central Sales Organisation at Calcutta that the eligibility for the purpose of promotion would be considered with reference to their date of joining the calcutta office. The plaintiffs in Title suit No. 758 of 1972 were not however given to understand the aforesaid fact expressly before they joined the Central Sales Organisation at Calcutta. In both the suits the plaintiffs however made the same grievance and contended that their seniority for the purpose of promotion should be calculated from the date of their original appointment under the Hindusthan Steel Ltd. at any one of its units, and not from the date of their joining the Central Sales Organisation on transfer.;