Assembly Fellows case: Agreed to release salaries to research fellows, Service dept told Delhi HC

New Delhi [India], November 6 : The Delhi High Court on Monday was informed that the competent authority agrees to pay salaries to Delhi Legislative Assembly Research Fellows whose services were terminated in August this year. Their two months' salaries were not paid.
Justice Subramonium Prasad on the request of counsel for the Service Department listed the matter on Friday for hearing.
Standing Counsel Awnish Ahlawat submitted, "We agree to pay them their salaries. Cases of the petitioners are being proceeded with. The matter is pending before the competent authority. The decision will be taken by Friday."
Advocate Sameer Vasisth Counsel for Legislative Assembly also submitted that he has no difficulty with the issue.
Advocate Gautam Narayan Counsel for petitioner submitted that Diwali is on Sunday. They are hand-to-mouth.
On the Delhi High Court on November 2 issued notice on the plea seeking restoration of interim order earlier passed in favour of Research Fellows of Delhi Legislative assembly. Later on, the order was vacated by the High Court. Their services were terminated in August this year.
The high court had also asked the respondent to take instructions on the payment of the pending salaries of these fellows.
An application seeking restoration of interim order dated September 21, 2023 passed by the High Court has been filed.
It has also sought direction from the Respondents to release the stipends of the Petitioners Applicants for the period of June 01, 2023 to August 09, 2023.
The Delhi Court on October 3, 2023, vacated the interim stay on the termination of services of Assembly Fellow/Associate Fellows engaged with Delhi Assembly Research Centre.
The high court had vacated the stay in view of an order passed by the Apex Court declining to stay on the letter issued by the Assembly Secretariat.
Earlier, on September 21, the High Court had directed that the order shall continue till the next date of hearing on December 6 and that stipend be paid to them. This order was challenged before the High Court.
Justice Prasad had said that the Apex Court has declined to stay the Order of 05.07.2023 by dismissing an Intervention Application. Propriety demands that this Court ought not
have passed any interim order which had the effect of staying the Order dated 05.07.2023 and other consequential orders.
" In view of the above, this Court is inclined to vacate the stay granted by it in its Order dated September 21, 2023," Justice Prasad said in a judgment. Thereafter, an application before the Supreme Court for clarification of the order dated July 20, 2023
Advocate Gautam Narayan submitted that the Supreme Court on dated October 30, 2023, passed an order in the applications that clarified that its order dated July 20, 2023, did not deal with the letter dated July 5, 2023 impugned by way of the present writ petition.
He also submitted that The Supreme Court also clarified that its order dated July 20, 2023, will not come in the way of this Hon'ble Court from adjudicating all issues raised in the writ petition.
Advocate Narayan also submitted that the salaries of months of June and July have not been paid to these fellows. This is festival season. He prayed for the court to issue directions to issue salaries.
The High court, earlier, noted that the letter of July 5, 2023 was specifically challenged by the Government of NCT of Delhi in an Intervention Application wherein it was specifically argued before the Apex Court that the said letter must be stayed.
In the Order dated July 20, 2023, the Apex Court chose not to stay the letter of July 05, 2023.
"The contention of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner that since the Apex Court has not passed any order in the Intervention Application it is open for this Court to consider the same, cannot be sustained," Justice Prasad said.
It was specifically argued before the Apex Court that the Lt. Governor has terminated the contract of 437 consultants engaged with statutory bodies under the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) or with the Delhi Legislative Assembly.
The bench noted that the genesis of the whole controversy lies in the letter dated July 5, 2023, by which the Lt. Governor has disengaged the Fellows/Associate Fellows of the DCRA.
On the other, an application was filed by Respondents for vacation of the said order.
In the application, it was mentioned that the 2023 Ordinance has been challenged in the Apex Court by the Government of NCT of Delhi by filing a petition 2023.
It was stated that in the said Writ Petition an application, being Intervention Application, was also filed seeking a stay of the letter dated July 5, 2023, discontinuing the engagement of Fellows and Associate Fellows in the Delhi Assembly Research Centre (DARC).
In the present application it was contended that since the issue is pending before the Apex Court, this Court ought not to have restrained the Respondents from discontinuing the services of the Petitioners herein as Fellows in the DRC as it would amount to stay of the letter of July 5, 2023, which the Apex Court chose not to interfere with.
While seeking the response from the Delhi assembly secretariat, the high court had directed that the services of Assembly Fellow/Associate Fellows engaged with the Delhi Assembly Research Centre shall continue till the next date of hearing on December 6 and a stipend be paid to them.
Earlier, a petition was moved by 17 such fellows challenging the termination of their contacts by the Delhi legislative assembly secretariat.