Duncan challenge

TT, Calcutta, Feb. 3: Duncan Industries Limited today moved Calcutta High Court challenging the takeover by the central government of six of its tea gardens in the Dooars.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing before Justice Dipankar Dutta tomorrow.

The Gouri Prasad Goenka-owned Duncan prayed for a stay the operation of the gazette notification issued by the department of commerce on January 28.

The Union ministry of commerce and industry had invoked a rarely used section of the Tea Act, 1953, to take control of the gardens in the Dooars, saying they "are being managed in a manner highly detrimental to the tea industry and to public interest".

Duncan tea garden employees and unions have said the owner has not paid wages since April 2015. Many workers said the lack of income and nutritious food had led to deaths in many of the 14 gardens the company has in the Dooars and the Darjeeling hills.

Appearing for Duncan, barrister Anindya Mitra, a former advocate-general of Bengal, prayed to Justice Dutta to treat the case as an unlisted motion and start hearing it.

Justice Dutta, however, advised Mitra to file the case first before the appropriate department, and the case would be heard by him after it comes to the list. In the afternoon, a formal case was filed.

The company challenged the order on four grounds, sources said. First, it argued that Duncan is under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and the Tea Act cannot supersede that. "Since these gardens have been declared sick... and already sent to BIFR, the central government does not have the power to acquire them," a company source said.

Duncan also said that the act of a takeover was itself bad in law. Courts in the past had held that the Centre must be fully satisfied that all conditions that can trigger the takeover are prevalent.

The company argued that the Tea Board, which has been entrusted by the notification to take over the gardens, was ill-equipped to take care of the estates. "It does not have the wherewithal to run the show. The Centre cannot give it to private party without tenders. But this is the crucial time to trim and attend to the bushes before plucking season starts in the end of March. So effectively, no production will happen in these gardens this year," the source said.

Duncan also questioned the timing of the takeover. It said it had signed tripartite agreement with the Bengal government and workers' unions. "When everything is settled and we are (moving) in the right direction, this notification is ill-timed," the source added.

The six tea gardens whose takeover Duncan has challenged are Birpara, Garganda, Lankapara, Tulshipara, Huntapara, Dhumchipara.

Another garden, Shantipara Tea's Demdima Tea Estate, was also taken over by the Centre. Shantipara will move a separate case for Demdima.

The Tea Board has also been made a party to the case. The Tea Board will also contest Duncan's petition.

The takeover by the Centre of the seven gardens will affect the future of 17,555 workers.