TATA IRON & STEEL CO LTD Vs. KOLHAN SUPERINTENDENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These writ applications have been filed by the defendants of title suits against w horn the Kolhan Superintendent of Chaibasa, respondent No. 1, has passed an order of ad interim injunction restraining from transferring the plaintiffs in the suits, to another colliery of the petitioner company, namely. West Bokaro Colliery from Noamundi. The petitioners have come to this Court only against the interim order without agitating the matters before respondent No. 1 himself where the injunction matter has yet to be finally heard and the question that has been pressed before this Court could well be agitated in the first instance at that stage itself. Since the petitioners have succeeded in obtaining a rule and a question of jurisdiction is involved raising some Constitutional question also I propose to decide the same on merits instead of sending the petitioners back to the Authority as I had thought at one stage of the hearing.

(2.) The suits had been filed before the Kolhan Superintendent under the provisions of the Wilkinson's Rules which were framed, for administration of Civil Justice within the Justice within the Jurisdiction of the Agent of the Governor General under Regulation 13 of 1833, and rule 1 of that Rule which has fallen for our consideration reads as follows

(3.) Before coming to the discussion of the main question, I may very briefly indicate the facts on which the suits have been constituted. The petitioner company has a Pelletising Plant at Noamundi under its Mines Division which according to the plaintiffs, is a complete and distinct administrative unit. The Mines Division of the Company consists of several units which are all iron ore mines at Noamundi and other places. The West Bokaro Colliery, a property of defendant No. 1, according to the plaintiffs, is not within its Mines Division as it forms part of the Colliery Division. The plaintiffs were appointed in the Pelletising Plant of the Mines Division, and according to their case, they were liable to be transferred only within the Mines Division of defendant No. 1, but the defendants-petitioners by their different office orders ('Annexure-3 in all the applications) transferred them from Noamundi to West Bokaro Colliery and accordingly they instituted the respective suits in the court of the Kolhan Superintendent at Chaibassa (respondent No. 1 in all the cases) challenging the orders of their transfer on various grounds, with a prayer of injunction restraining the petitioners from transferring them, in which as already said earlier, the interim order of injunction was passed.