Penned in a tight corner, Agriculture Ministry once again sought time to study NCUI’s replies in the matter of NCCT delink from NCUI which came up for hearing on Monday in the Delhi High Court.
The Honorable court did give a date next month in August but not before reminding the govt advocate, represented by the Additional Solicitor General, to come prepared in the next hearing.
NCUI sources said that this is only a delaying tactic on the part of the Ministry as it finds itself in a tight corner on the issue. “NCUI has a very substantial law point in its favour”, they asserted.
“Even by putting in the best of show they cannot delay it more than once or twice and the verdict is going to come in our favour”, said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
In the last hearing on 8th May, the Ministry had similarly sought time to study the reply filed by the NCUI.
Earlier, NCCT had filed an affidavit at the direction of the court arguing how delinking was justified. NCUI advocates led by Om Prakash argued against the points contained in the NCCT affidavit.
Earlier, in April in a major victory for the apex body NCUI, Delhi High Court had asked the Union of India to restrain itself from taking any steps to make structural changes in the organization.
The High Court also observed that prime facie it appears that the respondents (Union Govt) have no authority to delink a part (NCCT) of the petitioners’(NCUI’s) organization as a separate society.
The court had asked the Union of India to put before it the provisions of law, under which the impugned orders have been passed. The Union Govt filed an affidavit to this effect, which was rebutted point by point by the NCUI lawyers.
It bears recall that NCUI had received a letter from the Agriculture Ministry with the title “Establishing National Council of Cooperative Training (NCCT) as an independent, Central and Professional entity-delinking from National Cooperative Union of India”.
The apex body went to court challenging the order of the Ministry.