LAWS(KAR)-2020-3-136

YASHODHARA T. Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

Decided On March 12, 2020
Yashodhara T. Appellant
V/S
STATE OF KARNATAKA Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned counsel appearing for the appellants. Appellants are the writ petitioners.

(2.) The challenge by the appellants in the writ petition was firstly, to a recruitment notification dated 21st July, 2016 for filling in 6,010 posts of Junior Lineman, out of which 2,523 posts were for the third respondent-Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company. The second prayer in the writ petition filed by the appellants was for directing the second and third respondents to reserve posts for contractual labourers by providing age relaxation and for grant of weightage for the service of contract labourers.

(3.) The case of the appellants is that they were employed by the third respondent as monsoon gangmen through a contractor/agency and they are in continuous service from 2009 with artificial breaks of a day or two. The learned Single Judge while disposing of the writ petition by the impugned order, referred to the judgment and order dated 14th September, 2018 in W.P. Nos. 28980-29039 of 2017, by which similar reliefs claimed by similarly placed employees were rejected so far as the challenge to the prayer for absorption and regularization is concerned. The said writ petitions were in case of Junior Linemen. However, by the judgment and order dated 14th September, 2018, the respondents were directed to pay wages to the petitioners on par with the regular Junior Linemen. The learned Single Judge referred to an order passed in Writ Appeal No. 922 of 2019 whereby the order of the learned Single Judge passed in W.P. Nos. 54914-54927 of 2017 was set aside and the third respondent (BESCOM) was directed to pay wages to the petitioners for the posts they were holding. Thus, the learned Single Judge relied upon the judgment and order dated 14th September, 2018 in W.P. Nos. 28980-29039 of 2017 in the case of similarly placed employees.