- (1.) Heard learned counsel for the parties.
(2.) Petitioner in this writ application has prayed for a direction upon the respondents to immediately release the amounts (with penal interest) due and payable to the petitioner under the Head P.D.S. (Public Deposit Scheme) after retaining such amount, as has been retained by the Respondents in the case of other similarly situated persons.
(3.) The petitioner was admittedly a member of Bokaro Steel City Central Consumers Co-operative Stores Ltd. He was an employee of the Bokaro Steel Ltd. The petitioner after his retirement from service, had filed a writ application before this court vide W.P.(S) No. 912 of 2003 for a direction upon the respondents to pay him his retiral benefits. The writ application was disposed of by an order of this court passed on 24.3.2003 with a direction to the employer to pay all the retiral benefits to the petitioner after obtaining an undertaking from him in respect of retention of the P.D.S. Amount. As regards the P.D.S. amount, it was left for the respondents to take appropriate steps as per the decision already taken by the court in a pending writ application vide CWJC No. 988 of 1997 (R). The grievance of the petitioner is that on the plea of retaining the P.D.S. amount, a sum of Rs. 3.00 lakhs has illegally been retained by the employer, although the amount towards P.D.S. relating to the other members of the Co-operative Stores, which was retained by the employer, was only Rs. 1.5 lakhs. The petitioner has claimed that the respondents are therefore liable to release the payments which are due to the petitioner after retaining only Rs. 1.5 lakhs. Such arrangement would continue till the final decision in the CWJC No. 988 of 1997 (R).;