DAVINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellants have come before this Court, being aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh dated 11.09.2006 in CWP No. 5142/2005 and CWP No. 5144/2005. Both the appeals involve identical questions of law and facts. Consequently, both of them are clubbed and disposed of by this common Judgment.

(3.) The appellants in the instant case are Rs. volunteers of the Punjab Home Guards. They were recruited and appointed sometime in the year 1989 under the Punjab Home Guards Act, 1947 and the Rules framed thereunder. They were paid consolidated wages of Rs. 2700/- per month, from the date of their appointment till their services were dispensed with. In the order of termination, it is alleged that the appellants were involved in an act of indiscipline at the Amritsar railway station on 02.10.2004. The order of termination was challenged before the High Court in the above mentioned civil writ petitions. The view of the High Court is that Rs. volunteers are persons engaged in Honorary capacity. They have no civil rights and, therefore, the termination of their services on account of the allegations leveled against them cannot be considered to be in violation of law. The High Court has also placed reliance on the observations made by this Court in the case of State of Gujarat v. Akshay Amrutlal Thakkar, (2006) 2 SCC 309.