Staff can seek details of company’s disinvestment: court

GANDHINAGAR - Years after the disinvestment of the Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL), the Gujarat High Court has upheld the right of its employees to seek details of an agreement between the central government and a company which bought its stake.

The court ruled that since the disinvestment process was over years back, it would not serve any purpose in issuing directions to supply the details of the agreement.

Justice Akil Kureshi said: “The petitioners (employees) appear to be correct in contending that they had a voice at the time when the disinvestment process was going on and for that purpose certain essential documents would have been required.”

“However, the disinvestment took place many years back. The entire process is over. No useful purpose would be served in directing supplying of these documents to the petitioners,” the court said in an order made available Monday.

The employees approached the court in 2002 seeking directions to the government and the company to make public the shareholders’ agreement between the government and the strategic partner.

This was after the government decided to sell its 26 percent stake in IPCL.

Counsel for the petitioners, Shalin Mehta, said Monday: “The information pertaining to the rationale and process of disinvestment has never been passed on nor explained to the petitioners.”

Issues of job security of workers, social security, framing of an appropriate voluntary retirement scheme and employee stock options were sidestepped by the government, the petitioners alleged.

Counsel for the respondents contended that disinvestment took place long back and such documents could be claimed by the petitioners even under the Right to Information Act now. “No useful purpose would be served in giving any direction as prayed for by the petitioners,” said counsel.