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Synopsis

Taking note of the minutes of the meeting held between the Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti UP and the Power Ministery on December 3, the  Allahabad High Court on Tuesday observed that it gave an impression that the employees of the power department are arm-twisting the department.

The bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice J.J. Munir said that it appeared that the employees, who had been protesting for the last two months and went on an indefinite strike on November 29, have little regard that disruption of essential services is a very serious issue and is not to be tolerated.

The situation, therefore, needs to be dealt with in a firm manner, the bench said. 

Accordingly, in the suo moto Public Interest Litigation initiated by the court after disruption in the supply of electricity in some areas of Prayagraj, Court issued notice to the representatives of the Employees' Union i.e. Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti through its General Secretary.

Court said that it is appropriate to issue notice to the representatives of Employees' Union so that whenever the matter is listed next, they are given an opportunity of being heard.

Court posted the matter on December 16, 2022, for further hearing while stating: "It is expected that the Power Department shall ensure that the power supply is not disrupted and if it is disrupted in any manner, then strict action is taken."

The PIL proceedings were drawn by the court after the power supply in Prayagraj got disrupted and it affected the water supply as well. On December 1, Court directed the State Government through the Additional Chief Secretary (Power) to ensure that disruption is removed and the supply of power and water is normalised in the city.

On December 3, the court was informed that the supply had been restored and the disruption had occurred due to the strike being held by the employees of the power utilities in the State. The court was also told that the power supply was not disrupted only at Prayagraj but throughout the State.

During the hearing, Court noted that from the records, it appeared that the Administration was well within the knowledge of the employees' strike which was scheduled for November 29, 2022, about a month back, however, no action was taken to sort out the issues.

Court summoned the Additional Chief Secretary (Power) to the court the same day. Mahesh Kumar Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Energy, Government of U.P. appeared before the court at 3 pm that day and told the court that a meeting had been held between the Employees' Union and the Power Ministery where consensus had been arrived on 14 points.

He also apprised the court that representatives of the employees had agreed to defer the strike and join back the duties immediately.

Court then adjourned the hearing in the matter to December 6. However, on Tuesday, the court was told that the strike had been called off for a period of fifteen days and on the request of the Employees' Union, the department took a decision to withdraw show cause notices and orders relating to suspension, removal from service and other coercive disciplinary measures that it had adopted against the striking employees.

The employees of the power utilities who have been protesting under the banner of the Uttar Pradesh Vidyut Karmchari Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti include employees of the various Generation, Transmission and Distribution Companies.

They are demanding time-bound pay scales, the appointment of chairman and MDs strictly as per rules, cashless treatment, the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, and the regularisation of all outsourced workers. They claimed that On October 27, they had given a strike notice to the management of the UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) however, since no action was taken by the management, they were forced to go on strike as per their announced schedule on November 29.

However, the four-day-long strike by electricity workers ended on the fifth day, after which the power supply was restored in the state.

Case Title: In Re Disruption of Power Supply in Prayagraj v. State of U.P. through Additional Chief Secretary Power U.P. Government and others