High Court raps Chandigarh Administration, says it bent before power employees' union

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 24

Just two days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo motu cognisance of the power crisis in the city, a Division Bench today rapped the UT Administration for apparently bending down before the electricity employees’ union. The Bench also admonished the union.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli observed that the UT authorities were taking credit, but should also take responsibility, adding that the Administration appeared to have succumbed to the pressure of the union.

The assertion came after minutes of a meeting held on February 23 that was chaired by the UT Deputy Commissioner was placed before the Bench. Among other things, it was stated that the union requested that a sympathetic view should be taken regarding employees joining their duty that day itself. “The Deputy Commissioner assured that a reasonable sympathetic view will be taken regarding such employees, who had joined their duty today morning or will immediately join from 4 pm. Appropriate legal action will be taken against those employees who will still be absent from duty,” the reply added.

The Bench said it had not said that the employees should be fired. This was indicated in an earlier affidavit placed before the court, but something else was stated in the minutes of the meeting. In such a situation, an attempt was being made to throw dust in the eyes of the court. The High Court said the UT was not reporting the incidents of damage to electricity and were trying to save the employees.

Referring to erring officials and certain members of the UT Powermen Union, the Administration had, on Wednesday, told the Bench that the UT police had already lodged an FIR and was in the process of procuring CCTV footage to identify the actual culprits. Further, a decision had been taken to terminate the services of all those contractual employees, who had violated the orders passed by the Administration.

Amicus curiae Chetan Mittal referred to a copy of the minutes of the meeting between the Administration and the union before pointing out that the Deputy Commissioner assured that the Engineering Department would not issue an LOI to the selected private agency till the next date of hearing — March 10 — before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Mittal added that the Administration had come under pressure from the union.

What the Bench said

As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli observed that the UT authorities were taking credit, but should also take responsibility, adding that the Administration appeared to have succumbed to the pressure of the union.

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