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TMI Blog2001 (1) TMI 999X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nit-Run- Canteens are part of the Canteen Stores Department and since the Canteen Stores Department forms a part of the Government in the Ministry of Defence there is no reason as to why the Unit-Run-Canteens should not be held to be a part of Ministry of Defence. On behalf of Union of India the jurisdiction of the Tribunal was assailed on the ground that these employees cannot be held to be the Government employees and consequently the Tribunal did not have the jurisdiction to entertain the applications and decide the grievances of the employees. According to the Union of India the Unit-Run-Canteens are operated by the non-public funds and the expenditure required to run the Unit Canteens is made out of the profits earned by the canteens itself and, therefore, so far as the personnel serving in such canteens, there is no relationship of master and servant between the Government of India and the employees, and consequently the applications before the Tribunal should be rejected. The Central Administrative Tribunal, however, at Jodhpur and Bombay took the view that the Unit-Run-Canteens are the part of Defence establishment and consequently the holder of a post in the management of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Central Administrative Tribunals at Jodhpur and Bombay have taken the correct view with regard to the status of such employees. According to them the decision of this Court and the test indicated in the Life Insurance Corporation case would fully apply to the facts and circumstances of the present case and, as such, there will be no reason to hold that the employees in the Unit-Run-Canteens are not the Government servants. 3. In order to decide whether the employees serving in the Unit-Run-Canteens can be held to be Government servants, it is necessary to find out the mode of appointment of such employees, Rules and Regulations governing the conditions of service of such employees, fund from which such salary is paid, and other factors which really determine the existence of relationship of master and servant between the Government and the employees. In the Defence Services there are two types of canteens;, (1) Canteen Stores Department, and (2) Unit-Run-Canteens. The Canteen Stores Department was in existence in this country even during pre-independence days and it has its Head Office and Base Depot in Bombay with 33 Area Depots all over the country. These Area Depots are the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... accepted doctrine though it took considerable period for implementing change over. It goes without saying that from 1948 onwards the Canteen( for short `CSD') functioned as a department under the Ministry of Defence, initially for three years on an experimental basis, and later from 1950 on a permanent basis and yet right upto 1977 the legal status of the same remained nebulous. For functional purposes, it was a commercial undertaking, but for actual practice it was treated as a Department of the Ministry of Defence. The result was that the terms and conditions of employees presented various problems which quite often became a source of discontent and unpleasant employer- employee relations. As has been stated earlier, for effective functioning of the defence services it is absolutely necessary to provide canteen facilities through out the country and while the Canteen Stores Department serve as whole sale outlet it is the Unit-Run Canteens which serve as retail outlet. A set of Rules regulating the terms and conditions of service of the employees of Unit-Run canteens have been framed which confers all pervasive control over the employees with the authorities of Defence service ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that providing canteen facilities to the Defence service personnel is obligatory on the part of the Government and in fact these Unit-Run Canteens discharge the duty of retail outlets after getting their provision from the wholesale outlet or depot of the Canteen Stores Department. Mr. Goswami, the learned senior counsel appearing for the Union of India strongly relied upon the judgment of this Court in Union of India and another vs. Chotelal Others - MANU/SC/0780/1998MANU/SC/0780/1998 : AIR1999SC376 , wherein the question for consideration was whether Dhobis appointed to wash the clothes of cadets at NDA at Khadakwasla who are being paid from the regimental fund could be treated as holders of civil post within the Ministry of Defence. This Court answered in the negative because the regimental fund was held not to be a public fund as defined in paragraph 802 of Defence Services Regulation. Payment to such dhobis out of the regimental fund and the character of that regimental fund was the determinative factor. But in the case in hand if the Canteen Stores Department forms a part of the Ministry of Defence and if their funds form a part of the Consolidated Fund of India and it is t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ble to the regular Government employees in the CSDI. It also further directed that they should be treated as Government employees from the date of the filing of the applications before the Tribunal. It also directed that they would be entitled to retiral benefits. As already stated, we have come to the conclusion about the status of the employees serving in Unit-Run Canteens to be that of Government servants, but that by itself ipso facto would not entitle them to get all the service benefits as is available to the regular government servant or even their counter parts serving in the CSD Canteens. It would necessarily depend upon the nature of duty discharged by them as well as on the Rules and Regulations and Administrative Instructions issued by the employer. We have come across a set of Administrative Instructions issued by he Competent Authority governing the service conditions of the employees of such Unit-Run Canteens. In this view of the matter, the direction of the Tribunal that the employees of the Unit-Run Canteens should be given all the benefits including the retiral benefits of regular government servants cannot be sustained and we accordingly, set aside that part of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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