RAMESH SANKAversusUNION OF INDIA & ORS.

                         [2019] 2 S.C.R. 425                               425


                        RAMESH SANKA                                       A
                                   v.
                     UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
                (Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 142 of 2018)
                          JANUARY 25, 2019                                 B
               [ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE AND
                  R. SUBHASH REDDY, JJ.]
       Constitution of India – Art.32 – Personal contractual rights
inter se the employee and his employer – Petitioner alleged that
                                                                           C
Respondent No.12 - a Limited Company committed several financial
irregularities in their business and financial dealing with many
Companies, firms and individuals in contravention of the provisions
of Several Acts/Rules/Regulations – Respondent No.12 contended
that writ petitioner was its former employee and that petition was
filed with an ulterior motive to tarnish the image of respondent no.12,    D
as some civil suits were pending between them – Held: In instant
case, petitioner has not claimed any relief in person qua respondent
no.12-Company – Even otherwise, writ petition u/Art.32 is not the
remedy for agitating any personal grievance in relation to any of
his contractual personal rights flowing from any service conditions
                                                                           E
or any other agreement – If the writ petitioner has any personal
grievance in relation to his contractual personal rights, legal remedy
for petitioner lies in filing civil suit or taking recourse to any other
civil law remedy for adjudication and enforcement of his rights qua
respondent no.12-Company or anyone claiming through them as
the case may be – Since, parties were already prosecuting their            F
grievances against each other in Civil Court, the same have to be
pursued by them in accordance with law.
      Dismissing the Writ petition, the Court
      HELD: 1. At the outset, the writ petitioner has not claimed
any relief in person qua respondent No.12 – Company, in this               G
writ petition. Even otherwise, no writ lies under Article 32 of the
Constitution at the instance of any employee or the employer for
claiming enforcement of any personal contractual rights inter se
the employee and his employer. [Para 16] [430-A-B]
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426            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                       [2019] 2 S.C.R.


A            2. If the writ petitioner has any personal grievance in
      relation to any of his contractual personal rights flowing from any
      service conditions or any other agreement with the respondent
      No.12 – Company, his legal remedy lies in filing Civil Suit or take
      recourse to any other civil law remedy for adjudication and
      enforcement of his rights qua respondent No.12 – Company or
B
      anyone claiming through them as the case may be. The writ
      petition under Article 32 of the Constitution is not the remedy
      for agitating any such grievance. [Para 17][430-B-C]

            3. It is not in dispute that the parties are already prosecuting
C     their grievances against each other in Civil Court in their
      respective civil suits filed by them against each other. If that be
      the position, the same have to be pursued by them in accordance
      with law against each other. [Para 18] [430-D]

             4. Insofar IAs filed by the different applicants for claiming
D     various reliefs qua respondent No.12 – Company in relation to
      their individual and collective grievances are concerned, all such
      applicants would be at liberty to raise their grievances qua
      respondent No.12 – Company whether individually or severally
      for adjudication of their rights before an appropriate Judicial
E     Forum in accordance with law. [Paras 23, 24] [431-A-C]

            State of Uttaranchal v. Balwant Singh Chaufal & Ors.
            (2010) 3 SCC 402 : [2010] 1 SCR 678 ; K.D. Sharma
            v. Steel Authority of India Ltd. & Ors. (2008) 12 SCC
            481 : [2008] 10 SCR 454 ; Arun Kumar Agrawal v.
F           Union of India & Ors. (2014) 2 SCC 609 : [2014] 3
            SCR 861 – referred to.

                              Case Law Reference

            [2010] 1 SCR 678          referred to             Para 15
G
            [2008] 10 SCR 454         referred to             Para 15

            [2014] 3 SCR 861          referred to             Para 15


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          RAMESH SANKA v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                               427


      CRIMINAL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petition                          A
(Criminal) No.142 of 2018
      Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.
      Tushar Mehta, SG, Anil Grover, AAG, Vikas Singh, Sanjay Hegde,
Shyam Divan, Sandeep Sethi, Nidhesh Gupta, S.K. Aggarwal, Sr. Advs.,
                                                                              B
Ms. Chanchal Chauhan, Dr. (Mrs.) Vipin Gupta, Rajesh Kumar
Chaurasia, Sudhir Kathpalia, Anil Sharma, Mahesh Agarwal, Rishi
Agrawala, Ankur Saigal, Sameer Chaudhary, Anshuman Srivastava,
Ms. Shruti Garg, E. C. Agrawala, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, P.K. Dey,
T.A. Khan, Ms. Suhasini Sen, B. V. Balaram Das, B. Krishna Prasad,
Ashish Bhan, Mohit Rohatgi, Aayush Mitruka, Bankey Bihari Sharma,             C
Ms. Richa Narang, Hitesh Mankar, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Mrs. Anil
Katiyar, Alok Sangwan, Sunny Kadiyan, Dr. Monika Gusain,
Ms. Tejaswini Chandrasekhar, Siddharth Batra, Ravinder Kumar,
Vishwajeet Arora, Ms. Garima Sehgal, Viriti Gujral, Ms. Jaspreet Kaur,
Ms. Pallavi Singh, Advs. for the appearing parties.
                                                                              D
      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
       ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, J. 1. This writ petition is filed
by one Mr. Ramesh Sanka under Article 32 of the Constitution of India
seeking for the issuance of Writ of Mandamus or any other Writ or
directions directing Respondent No.23 (CBI) to investigate the entire         E
matter and examine all the allegations made by the writ petitioner against
Respondent Nos.12 to 22 in accordance with law. The other reliefs
claimed in clause (b) to (d) of the writ petition are consequential to the
main relief.
       2. Stated concisely, the petitioner seeks the aforementioned reliefs   F
on following facts.
      3. The petitioner is a former employee of Respondent No.12 - a
Limited Company. He worked as CEO of the said company from June
2014 till 31st December 2016.
       4. In substance, the grievance of the writ petitioner is against       G
Respondent No.12. He has highlighted the manner and the modus
operandi of Respondent No.12 – Company, in carrying out their business
and financial operations/dealings.

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428             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                             [2019] 2 S.C.R.


A           5. His grievance is also against the persons who are managing
      the affairs of Respondent No.12 - Company and also against the
      Companies, individuals and the firms with whom respondent No.12 -
      Company is having their business and financial dealing/operations i.e.
      (Respondent Nos.13 to 22, 24 and 25).
B             6. According to the writ petitioner, Respondent No.12 – Company,
      through their Directors and employees has committed several financial
      irregularities in their business and financial dealing with many Companies,
      firms and individuals who are having their work places in India and abroad
      contrary to and in contravention of the provisions of Several Acts/ Rules
      / Regulations which have gone unnoticed despite the writ petitioner had
C     sent several complaints/representations to various statutory authorities
      in this behalf.
             7. According to the writ petitioner, all such dealings/activities of
      Respondent No.12 – Company, which he has highlighted in the writ
      petition has not only caused heavy loss to the public exchequer but also
D     rendered the persons, who indulged in these activities, liable to face
      prosecution for commission of several cognizable offences punishable
      under the Acts.
            8. It is essentially with these background facts; the writ petitioner
      has made allegations in the writ petition. He has also filed some documents
E     to show prima facie that the prayer made by him in his writ petition
      deserves consideration.
             9. On 11.07.2018, this Court issued notice of this writ petition
      confining it to the official respondents namely, respondent Nos.7 to 11.
      These respondents have filed the status report in a sealed cover. One
F     official-respondent has filed the affidavit.
             10. Respondent No.12 – Company, however, in the meantime
      entered suo motu appearance and has filed IA No.104447 of 2018 praying
      therein for dismissal of the writ petition on legal as well as on factual
      grounds.
G
             11. In substance, according to respondent No.12 – Company, the
      writ petition filed by the writ petitioner under Article 32 of the Constitution
      deserves dismissal on the grounds inter alia that it is not a bona fide
      petition. It is contended that this writ petition is filed by a former employee

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           RAMESH SANKA v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                                 429
               [ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, J.]

of respondent No.12 – Company to score his personal issues and the               A
differences qua respondent No.12 – Company, for which some civil
suits are pending between the parties in the Civil Court: that the writ
petitioner has suppressed several material facts in the writ petition
including the fact of pendency of the Civil Suits between them: that the
writ petition is filed with an ulterior motive at the behest of others only to
                                                                                 B
tarnish the image of respondent No.12 – Company, in the market: that
the writ petition does not involve any issue of infraction/violation of any
fundamental rights, guaranteed to the citizens under the Constitution of
India, of the petitioners. The Respondent No.12 – Company, has denied
all such allegations made against them by the writ petitioner as being
baseless.                                                                        C
      12. The writ petitioner has countered the averments made in the
aforesaid IA by placing reliance on the averments made in the writ petition
contending that there has been no suppression of the material facts as
alleged by respondent No.12 – Company.
                                                                                 D
       13. In the meantime several persons /organizations have suo motu
filed the applications being I.A. Nos.3739/2018, 176284-85/2018,
D.No.110020/2018, 160094/2018, 171501/2018, 160094/2018, 163098/
2018, D. No.175943-47/2018, 144019/2018, 81895/2018, 165472/2018,
163874/2018, 157884/2018, 115735/2018 and 2974/2019, seeking therein
various kinds of reliefs for them individually and collectively against          E
respondent No.12 – Company, in relation to their independent dealings
which they claimed to have had with respondent No.12 – Company and
which according to them are not till date fructified and given to them by
respondent No.12 – Company, as agreed.
       14. We have heard all the learned counsel for the parties in support      F
of their case.
       15. Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and keeping
in view the law laid down by this Court in the cases reported in State of
Uttaranchal vs. Balwant Singh Chaufal & Ors. [2010 (3) SCC 402],
K.D. Sharma vs. Steel Authority of India Ltd. & Ors. [2008(12)                   G
SCC 481 and lastly in Arun Kumar Agrawal vs. Union of India &
Ors. [2014(2) SCCC 609], we are not inclined to grant any relief in this
writ petition.

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430             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2019] 2 S.C.R.


A            16. At the outset, we find that the writ petitioner has not claimed
      any relief in person qua respondent No.12 – Company, in this writ petition.
      Even otherwise, no writ lies under Article 32 of the Constitution at the
      instance of any employee or the employer for claiming enforcement of
      any personal contractual rights inter se the employee and his employer.
B            17. If the writ petitioner has any personal grievance in relation to
      any of his contractual personal rights flowing from any service conditions
      or any other agreement with the respondent No.12 – Company, his legal
      remedy lies in filing Civil Suit or take recourse to any other civil law
      remedy for adjudication and enforcement of his rights qua respondent
      No.12 – Company or anyone claiming through them as the case may be.
C
      The writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution is not the remedy
      for agitating any such grievance.
             18. It is not in dispute that the parties are already prosecuting
      their grievances against each other in Civil Court in their respective civil
D     suits filed by them against each other. If that be the position, the same
      have to be pursued by them in accordance with law against each other.
              19. So far as the raising of other grievances as set out supra by
      the writ petitioner against the other respondents are concerned, suffice
      it to say, this court by order dated 11.07.2018 had issued notice to the
E     official respondents Nos.7 to 11. These respondents pursuant to the notice
      issued have filed their respective status report in relation to the inquiries,
      which is being undertaken by them in their respective jurisdiction. We
      have perused the same.
            20. Needless to say depending upon the outcome of the inquiry
F     once it is completed by the respective official respondents in their
      exclusive jurisdiction under various Acts, the appropriate action as
      provided in law will follow against all those who are found guilty.
            21. Before parting, we make it clear that we have not expressed
      any opinion on several factual issues alleged and denied by all the parties
G     against each other in this writ petition and in respective IAs.
            22. This order, therefore, will not influence any authority or the
      Court or ongoing inquiry or proceedings while dealing with any issue.
      The same has to be dealt with uninfluenced by this order.

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             RAMESH SANKA v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.                               431
                 [ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, J.]

       23. In view of the foregoing discussion, it is not necessary to           A
entertain several IAs bearing Nos.3739/2018, 176284-85/2018,
D.No.110020/2018, 160094/2018, 171501/2018, 160094/2018, 163098/
2018, D. No.175943-47/2018, 144019/2018, 81895/2018, 165472/2018,
163874/2018, 157884/2018, 115735/2018 and 2974/2019, filed by different
applicants for claiming various reliefs qua respondent No.12 – Company,
                                                                                 B
in relation to their individual and collective grievances.
      24. All such applicants would be at liberty to raise their grievances
qua respondent No.12 – Company whether individually or severally for
adjudication of their rights before an appropriate Judicial Forum in
accordance with law.
                                                                                 C
       25. It is with these observations, we find no merit in this writ
petition, which fails and is accordingly dismissed.


Ankit Gyan                                                 Petition dismissed.
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