Uttaranchal High Court: Lok Pal Singh, J., allowed a petition which was filed mainly seeking a writ, order or direction directing the respondents to provide employment to the petitioner in terms of the agreement executed between their forefather and sugar factory.
At the time of establishment of the Kisan Sahkari Chinni Mill Ltd. some farmers provided their land for the Mill, in lieu whereof, they were given share in the respondent Mill as per the area of their land. Besides this, the land owners/shareholders and the respondent Mill were entered into an agreement whereby it was provided that on the basis of land provided, employment will be given to the farmer himself, his son/grandson as per their qualification in the factory.
The grievance of the petitioner was that he was the heir /member of one of such family whose land was acquired for the purpose of establishment of factory but he had been denied employment by the respondent.
Counter affidavit had been filed by the respondent 2 stating that as per the agreement executed between shareholder Chandan Singh and the respondent Mill, employment was provided to two grandsons of Late Shri Chandan Singh. Petitioner was great grandson of shareholder Shri Chandan Singh and was therefore not entitled to get the employment.
The fact that the land of the petitioner’s grandfather was taken for the establishment of the sugar mill was not disputed and no compensation was paid for the land acquired, instead a share certificate was issued to the land donor and a unilateral letter was written on behalf of the sugar mill which suggests that employment will be provided to the landowner, his son/grandson, as per their eligibility.
The Court noted that in the instant case, on the one hand, the petitioner had been deprived of the land, whereas on the other, he was being denied employment by the respondent. The respondent 2 Sugar Mill, which was an instrumentality of the State, should have considered the fact that the land owner who donated the land for establishment of sugar mill, their future generation should not be left starving. The interpretation of the agreement by the respondent to the effect that either the son or grandson will be provided employment was unsustainable in the eyes of law.
The Court allowed the petition and held that denial of employment to the petitioner by the respondent mill was arbitrary and illegal.[Shashikant Singh v. State of Uttarakhand, Writ Petition (S/S) No.862 of 2019, decided on 17-09-2020]
Suchita Shukla, Editorial Assistant has reported this brief.
