Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 3: Jammu and Kashmir Industries Employees Association (JKIEA) today requested the recently constituted Group of Ministers headed by Minister for Industries and Commerce to save the retired personnel from further litigations and implement the judgments of the Supreme and High Courts regarding pensionery benefits to them.
In a meeting of the JKIEA, the speakers mentioned that Governor of Jammu and Kashmir in 1963 issued instruction for the formation of a corporation of Government industrial units run by the different Government departments. Consequent upon the formation of the corporation by transferring the State industrial units, some 200 retired employees of Jammu and Kashmir Industries Limited moved a petition in the High Court and Supreme Court against the formation of the corporation.
The Supreme Court in a civil petition held that Governor’s instruction under Article 89 of Article of Association of the company had no statutory force. Neither the industrial units nor its employees could be abolished by such instructions and there is nothing in the Governor’s instructions which could remotely be constructed an order abolishing these posts. Accordingly the judgment of High and Supreme Courts went in favour of these retired co-employees of Jammu and Kashmir Industries Limited and the State Government made these co-employees eligible for all pensionery benefits.
The speakers further stated that the other employees of the JKI/JK Handicrafts Corporation, who retired afterwards, approached J&K Government for treating them at par with their co-employees, but the Government denied to provide these benefits.
A civil petition was moved by these employees in the High Court, which allowed all these benefits to all the petitioners. The State Government also filed an appeal in the double bench and SLP in the Supreme Court, which too upheld the judgment of the single bench.
“We waited for one year, but court judgment was not implemented and contempt of petition was moved against the Government”, they said, adding that the High Court directed the Government to implement the judgment in 4 months.
“It is to mention that in April 2017, the daily wagers of Power Development Corporation were granted benefits of pension by Finance Department and this was done without any court intervention. Similarly, the employees (daily wagers) of JKSRTC were given the similar benefits through the existing mechanism. We hope that the judgments of Supreme and High Courts will be implemented in letter and spirit”, they added.
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