- (1.) This order will dispose of a bunch of six Letters Patent Appeals nos. 30 to 36 of 1992 which involve common questions of law and fact.
(2.) The respondents were working as Drivers, conductors, carpenters, Assistant Clerks and Electricians with Punjab Roadways when the State of Punjab took a Policy decision to transfer some of its buses to the Municipal Corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. These buses were to be plied and operated by the respective corporations, Consequently, some of the staff which was necessary to operate the buses had also to be transferred to the corporations along with the vehicles. Options were invited from the employees but only few opted for their transfer. The State Government, therefore, decided to sent the employees on the principle of last come first go. The employees including some of the respondents herein represented against their transfers on the ground that the terms and conditions of the employees with the corporations were less favourable than their existing terms with the State of Punjab, some of them filed civil writ petition No. 4350 of 1980 (Ajmer Lal and others vs. State of Punjab.) challenging the orders of the Director State Transport, Punjab, transferring their services to the corporations which was allowed by a learned single Judge of this Court on May,7,1981 and it was held that the action of the State Government was illegal and beyond its jurisdiction, Another similar writ petition No. 5746 of 1982 (Avtar Singh Inspector vs. State of Punjab and others) came up before a Division Bench and was allowed at the motion state as the same was covered by the ratio of the decision in Ajmer Lal's case . The State of Punjab went up in appeal to the Supreme Court in Avtar Singh's case which was disposed of with the following observations:- "There are 73 employees who are concerned in this case. They were originally the employees of the Punjab Roadways. They are now working as drivers, fitters, mechanics, Inspectors, Clerks, Carpenters etc. under Jullundur Municipal corporation. Having regard to the facts of this case, we feel that the Punjab Roadways should be directed to take back these employees as and when the vacancies become available in the Punjab Roadways in the categories in which these 73 employees belong. In other words if a vacancy in the category of drivers arisen in the Punjab Roadways a drive amongst these 73 employees shall be taken back by the Punjab Roadways.. Similarly, if a post of clerk falls vacant in the Punjab Roadways an employee who is working as a clerk amongst these 73 employees shall be taken back by the Punjab Roadways and so on. If when the vacancy of a driver or a clerk etc. arises in the Punjab Roadways and there are two or more employees answering the said description amongst these 73 employees the seniormost amongst them shall be reabsorbed in the vacancy concerned. The entire period of service of the employees who are reabsorbed as per this order shall be treated as part of the qualifying service in the Punjab Roadways for purposes of pension, such employees obviously are not entitled to any payment from the provident fund account. This process shall continue until all the 73 employees are taken back into the service of the Punjab Roadways. On such retransfer to the Punjab Roadways the employees concerned shall be assigned the seniority which they originally held before their transfer to the corporation. If any of the employees concerned has either already ceased to be or ceases to be in the service of the corporation before it is possible to reabsorb him in the service of the Punjab Roadways he shall not have any right to be treated as the employee of the Punjab Roadways.
(3.) This order shall not however be treated as precedent.;