High court seeks reply from central govt on proposed disinvestment of IMPCL

The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday sought a reply from the Centre on the proposed disinvestment of Ramnagar-based IndianMedicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd.

Justice Alok Singh asked the Centre to file a counter affidavit on a writ petition challenging the proposed disinvestment move on the plea that it was a profit making company set up in the backward area to boost employment generation for locals.

The writ petition has been filed by IMPCL Karmachari Sangh through its secretary Jaipal Singh Rawat, counsel for the petitioner Kartikeya Hari Gupta said.

IMPCL employees, in their petition, said they had worked very hard to make it a profit makingcompany and at this stage its proposed disinvestment by the Government was arbitrary and illegal, Gupta said.

Disinvesting in the company and privatising it will make its services suffer, the petition said and also questioned the rationale behind the decision.

Ifthe Centre has not disinvested inAir India in spite of its being a loss making company, why should it disinvest in IMPCL, the petition said.