Sudhir Ram v. The Honourable Lieutenant Governor And ORS

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

[ CIRCUIT BENCH AT PORT BLAIR ] *** WPA/864/2023 Sudhir Ram Vs.

The Honourable Lieutenant Governor and Ors.

With WPA/865/2023 Biswajit Mondal Vs.

The Honourable Lieutenant Governor and Ors.

With WPA/866/2023 Veeraswamy Vs.

The Honourable Lieutenant Governor and Ors.

With WPA/869/2023 B. Rajesh Kindo Vs.

The Honourable Lieutenant Governor and Ors.

Mr. Gopala Binnu Kumar Ms. Vinita Devi .... for the petitioner Mr. Shatadru Chakraborty Mr. Dibesh Dwivedi ... for the respondents November 6, 2024 [SR] Item Nos.

19 to 21& 23 1.

Each of the petitioners were engaged as Daily Rated Mazdoors under Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samity. Their services were summarily terminated after they have been found to, inter alia, have taken pictures of naked Jarawa women, supplied alcohol and tobacco to them and come to work under intoxication

and committed other acts undesirable of a DRM. The services of the petitioners were terminated.

2.

Mr. Gopala Binnu Kumar has vehemently argued that even a daily rated workman is entitled to compliance of the principles of natural justice before being terminated. The charges against his clients are false and fabricated and that petitioners have been performing their duties diligently and with sincerity. 3.

This Court is of the view that since the petitioners are terminated workmen, they must approach the authorities under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 challenging the action of the respondents.

4.

Reserving liberty to the petitioners to approach the Tribunal, each of the aforesaid writ petitions are disposed of without any order as to costs.

5.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all formalities. ( Rajasekhar Mantha, J. )