The AP High Court verbally ordered the striking APNGOs yesterday to call it off responding for the petition filed for ordering the striking Government employees to join duties. The High Court Bench of the Chief Justice Sengupta and Justice KC Bhanu was in the opinion that the Government employees cannot strike on political cause. The High Court further said that a strike is a right to the industrial workers as per Industrial Disputes Act but not to the Government employees.
Telangana Junior Advocates Association Convener Ravi Kumar filed a petition in the High Court that the APNGO’s strike is violating Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and causing hardships to the general public.
Brushing off the plea of the lawyer defending NGOs that the strike notice was given in advance and the NGO association is a registered body, High Court further questioned how Government employees drawing salaries from the people’s treasury can abandon their work. It is not the question of whether it is registered association or not. The point is that the Government activities came to stand still and general public life is getting disturbed. The Bench says that the point of bifurcation of the State is a political issue on which Government employees cannot strike. If they are inclined to strike they can resign from their posts and join the protest joining political parties.
At last the Bench asked the Seemandhra Secretariat Employees Forum and APNGOs Association to file a counter affidavit to justify striking for a political cause.
The same way the Court also asked the Government about the alternative arrangements made by them during employees strike. And also the Solicitor General was asked to intimate the Court of the decision officially taken by the Center.
The APNGO’s President Ashok Babu responded to the Courts’s order saying that the cause of striking violating the law will be explained to the High Court. He said that the protest has come from the people of all walks of life in Seemandhra but not the employees alone.
(AW-SriJa)
