Jessop staff move SC against proposed sale of PSU

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">NEW DELHI: Supported by Attorney General Milon Banerjee''s contention hat the Congress-led UPA government would not kow-tow its predecessor NDA''s resolve to indiscriminately private the public sector undertakings, employees of Kolkata''s railway wagon manufacturing unit, Jessop, have moved the apex court against the sale of its remaining shares.</span><br /><span style="" font-size:=""> </span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Protesting the proposed sale of the remaining 27 per cent of government stake in Jessop and Company, the staff of this unit on Friday pleaded before the supreme court for early hearing on their petition questioning the disinvestment in the PSU.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">A Bench headed by Chief Justice R C Lahoti, after hearing petitioners'' counsel and former solicitor General Dipankar P Gupta fixed April 4 for hearing the matter questioning the 2002 Board for Industrial Finance and Reconstruction (BIFR) decision confirming the 72 per cent disinvestment of government equity in the company. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Concerned with this development, Gupta demonstrated a media report about the proposed sale of remaining 27 per cent of government equity and pleaded that the matter be heard at an early date so that the petition does not become infructuous. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">The Jessop staff association pleaded that as rail wagon manufacturing activity was in the strategic sector, the government should not be allowed to divest its share in the company below 49 per cent. </span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">At an earlier hearing in the Jessop disinvestment case, Banerjee had said the Centre would review the NDA government''s disinvestment policy.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Allowing AG to formulate a comprehensive policy in this regard, the apex court had admitted for hearing the Jessop & CO Ltd Staff Association''s appeal challenging the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)''s order allowing the disinvestment.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">It had also allowed the Centre''s petition seeking transfer to the apex court of all disinvestment related cases pending before various high courts across the country.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">The bunch of petitions challenging disinvestment of different units include Kshetriya Tamba Shramik Sangh challenging the Centre''s decision to privatise Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL).</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Earlier in 2003, a Kolkata high court Bench with its Chief Justice A K Mathur (who is now a SC judge) and Justice Ashim Banerjee had upheld the sale of Jeesop to Ruia Cotex Ltd and Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Ltd (BBUNL).</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="">The Union government had transferred its 72 per cent stake in JCL to Ruia Cotex for Rs 18 crore. </span><br /></div> </div>