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Judgment
A.S. Naidu, J.—Five Petitioners have jointly filed this Contempt Case u/s 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 inter alia alleging inaction of the opposite parties in complying with the direction of this Court vide order dated 17.3.2005 in WP(C) No. 8359 of 2003.
Although the cause of action of each of the Petitioners is distinctly separate, without entering into the controversy as to whether a joint petition for contempt can be entertained or not, this Court proposes to examine the contentions raised.
All the Petitioners were admittedly employees of Orissa State Handloom Development Corporation. They had individually filed applications before the authority concerned seeking voluntarily retirement from service under a Scheme sponsored by the said Corporation. Their applications having been considered and accepted on 31.12.2001 they were relieved from their services on 4.8.2003. The grievance of the Petitioners was that though they were relieved from services with effect from 4.8.2003, their back wages and other benefits flowing out of voluntary retirement scheme for the period from 31.12.2001, when their applications for voluntary retirement were accepted, till 4.8.2003 when they were relieved from services, were not paid. It was emphatically submitted by them that they had discharged their duties till 4.8.2003 and were legally entitled to their wages and other service benefits till that date.
After hearing the learned Counsel for the Petitioners and the learned Counsel for the opposite parties this Court disposed of their Writ Petition directing the opposite party-authorities to consider the representations said to have been filed by the Petitioners for grant of the benefits claimed by them within a period of three weeks. It was observed by this Court that on scrutiny if it would be found that the Petitioners had in fact discharged their duties till 4.8.2003 and were legally entitled to the emoluments claimed by them necessary steps would be taken for disbursement of the same within a period of four months. According to the Petitioners the aforesaid direction of this Court has not been complied with by the opposite party-authorities for which they have filed this Contempt Case.
After receiving notice of this Contempt Case, a show-cause reply has been filed by the opposite party-Corporation stating that after receipt of the order of this Court passed on 17.3.2005, the authorities concerned considered the cases of each of the Petitioners individually. On such consideration it was found that the Petitioners had not rendered any service after 31.12.2001 when their applications for voluntary retirement were accepted. Consequently their representations were disposed of and the decision was intimated to them vide letters annexed as Annexure-3 series to the Contempt petition. One of the said letter reads as follows:
With reference to subject cited above, I am to say that after careful consideration of your representation dtd. 21.10.03 in connection with shifting of cut-off date from 31.12.01 to 4.08.03 to avail benefits under VRS, it is observed that your representation does not merit any consideration and as such the management of OSHDC Ltd. has been pleased to reject the same.
It appears that after receipt of the aforesaid letter dated 7.5.2005, further representations were also filed by the Petitioners and the same too had been duly disposed of by the opposite party-authorities.
The aforesaid facts clearly reveal that the opposite party-authorities did in fact consider the representations filed by the Petitioners in compliance with direction of this Court and the decision taken thereon was duly communicated to the Petitioners. If the Petitioners were aggrieved, it was open to them to challenge the said decision in consonance with law, if any. The contention that the decision taken by the opposite party-authorities was not proper or in consonance with law cannot be a subject-matter for contempt. In that view of the matter this Court dismisses the Contempt Case.