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TMI Blog2007 (2) TMI 727X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... poration of India) (for short, 'the Corporation') came to be established 23.11.1997, the date on which the 'Appointed day' was notified in terms of Section 3 of the Act. Section 11 of the Act provides that it shall be lawful for the Central Government to transfer to the Corporation any of the officers or other employees serving in the Akashvani and Doordarshan and engaged in the performance of those functions, where the Central Government has ceased to perform the functions which in terms of Section 12 are the functions of the Corporation. Sub-section (5) of Section 11 of the Act, however, provides that every officer or other employee transferred by an order made under Sub-section (1) shall, within six months from the date of transfer; exercise his option, in writing, to be governed by the conditions enumerated therein and such option once exercised under the Act shall be final However, once the services of the officers or employees of Akashvani and Doordarshan are transferred to the Corporation, Sub-section (4) of Section 11 would be attracted which is in the following terms: (4) An officer or other employee transferred by an order under Sub-section (1) shall, on a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ations. The option of the employees under the provisions of the Act has not been taken. In fact, that occasion has not arisen even after eight years of operation of the Act on account of a wholly ad hoc approach adopted in the implementation of the Act. At this stage, it is not necessary to specifically indicate as to who has contributed more to this state of affair resulting in two views being expressed by two High Courts in the country -one by the Madras High Court holding that the employees can be transferred and the other by the Punjab Haryana High Court holding in favour of the employees that they cannot be transferred by the Corporation. The stand of the Corporation has been and is that the employees continue to be the employees of the Central Government. It is in the interest of neither the employees nor the Central Government nor the Corporation to continue the uncertainty for any further period of time. Let the learned Solicitor General discuss the matter with the concerned officers of the Corporation and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting so that the Act can be properly implemented and uncertainty comes to an end. We hope that the matter would be resolved expedi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ition and the two letters relied upon by Shri Sanjay Goyal shows that even as per the Central Government, the employees working in AIR and Doordarshan Kendras immediately before the formation of the Corporation continued to be its employees because no order transferring their services was passed by it in terms of Section 11 of the Act. Therefore, it is not possible to accept the argument of Shri Goyal that with the creation of the Corporation, the services of respondent No. 1 stood transferred to the Corporation and the competent authority of the Corporation could transfer her from one place to the other. The decision of the Madras High Court was not followed on the aforementioned premise. 8. This case raises practical problems which is the creation of Union of India and the appellants. It is difficult for us to comprehend as to why the Union of India did not exercise its statutory functions for such a long time. It was, in our opinion, obliged to take a decision one way or the other. It was for the Union of India to transfer the officers or employees of the Doordarshan and Akashvani to the Corporation. In such an event, the employees could have exercised their option as envisaged ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... artments. Each department has separate functions. Work of one department, however, would be related to another. It has not been disputed that the functions of the Central Government has been taken over by the Corporation in terms of Section 12 of the Act, when the Corporation has started functioning on and from the appointed day. It requires man-power for managing its affairs. It has been doing so with the existing staff. They are being paid their salaries or other remunerations by the Corporation. They are subjected to effective control by its officers. The respondents, for all intent and purposes, are therefore, under the control of the Corporation. 12. In Zee Telefilms Ltd. and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors. AIR 2005 SC 2677, it was noticed: The word 'control' has been defined in Black's Law Dictionary in the following terms: Control.- Power or authority to manage, direct, superintend, restrict, regulate, govern, administer or oversee. In Bank of New South Wales v. Common Wealth 76 CLR 1, Dixon, J., observed that the word control' is 'an unfortunate word of such wide and ambiguous import that it has been taken to mean something weaker than 'restraint' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Tribunal Bar Association v. State of U.P. and Anr. [2003] 1 SCR 666, this Court observed: 37. Transfer is an incident of service and is made in administrative exigencies. Normally it is not to be interfered with by the courts. This Court consistently has been taking a view that orders of transfer should not be interfered with except in rare cases where the transfer has been made in a vindictive manner. 17. In Balco Employees' Union (Regd.) v. Union of India and Ors. (2002) ILLJ 550 SC], this Court opined that in case of policy, the employees may suffer to certain extent, but such sufferings should be taken to be incidence of service. Therein, the court observed: 48. Merely because the workmen may have protection of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, by regarding BALCO as a State, it does not mean that the erstwhile sole shareholder viz. Government had to give the workers prior notice of hearing before deciding to disinvest. There is no principle of natural justice which requires prior notice and hearing to persons who are generally affected as a class by an economic policy decision of the Government. If the abolition of a post pursuant to a policy decision does not attrac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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