Court No. - 39
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 17545 of 2018 Petitioner :- Gopal Krishna Srivastava Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Pawan Kumar Srivastava Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Ravindra Singh
Hon'ble B. Amit Sthalekar,J. Hon'ble Jayant Banerji,J.
Heard Sri Pawan Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Ravindra Singh, learned counsel for respondents no. 2 to 5 and learned Standing Counsel for respondents no. 1.
The petitioner in the writ petition is seeking a direction to the respondent no. 2-Managing Director, U.P. Cooperative Sugar Factory Federation Ltd. to pay retiral benefits with interest at the rate of 18 per cent.
A preliminary objection has been raised by Sri Ravindra Singh,learned counsel for the respondents that the writ petition is not maintainable in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of General Manager, Kisan Sahkari Chini Mills Ltd., Sultanpur, U.P. Vs. Satrughan Nishad and Ors. reported in (2003) 8 SCC 639 wherein the Supreme Court in paragraph 9 has held as under :
"9.Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the contesting respondents submitted that even if the Mill is not an authority within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution, writ application can be entertained as mandamus can be issued under Article 226 of the Constitution against any person or authority which would include any private person or body. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, on the other hand, submitted that mandamus can be issued against private person or body only if infraction alleged is in performance of public duty. Reference in this connection may be made to the decisions of this Court in Anadi Mukta Sadguru Shree Muktajee Vandas Swami Suvarna Jayanti Mahotsav Samarak Trust and others v. V.R.Rudani and others (1989) 2 SCC 691 in which this Court examined the various aspects and distinction between an authority and a person and after analysis of the decisions referred in that regard came to the conclusion that it is only in the circumstances when the authority or the person performs a public function or discharges a public duty that Article 226 of the Constitution can be invoked. In the cases of K.Krishnamacharyulu and others v. Sri Venkateswara Hindu College of Engineering and another (1997) 3 SCC 571 and VST Industries Ltd. v. VST Industries Workers' Union and another, (2001) 1 SCC 298, the same principle has been reiterated. Further, in the case of VST Industries Ltd. (supra), it was observed that manufacture and sale of cigarettes by a private person will not involve any public function. This being the position in that case, this Court held that the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain an application under Article 226 of the Constitution. In the present case, the Mill is engaged in the manufacture and sale of sugar which, on the same analogy, would not involve any public function. Thus, we have no difficulty in holding that jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution could not have been invoked."
It is not disputed that the petitioner was working as Deputy Chief Engineer in the Kisan Sahkari Chini Mill Ltd. in Sathiaon, District Azamgarh and retired from service on 30.6.2017. Now he is claiming retiral dues with interest.
However, in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Kisan Sahkari Chini Mill Ltd. (Supra) this writ petition is not maintainable in the High Court and is accordingly, dismissed as not maintainable.
Order Date :- 21.8.2018 Vandana