CHANDRIKA R Vs. S ANITHAKUMARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners and respondents 1 to 21 were initially engaged as daily wage workers and later as casual workers in the Banana Nursery at Peringamala, under the Directorate of Agriculture. The manual work at the Peringamala Banana Nursery was being managed by engaging male and female casual laboures on daily wage basis. While so, the Principal Agricultural Officer, Thiruvananthapuram (Respondent No.24) issued AnnexureA1 order dated 3.1.2012 granting sanction for engaging the 63 male and 44 female daily wage workers at the Peringamala Banana Nursery, as casual workers on rotation basis. Since there was delay in implementation of the direction contained in Annexure-A1 order, the 24th respondent issued Annexure-A2 communication to the Banana Development Officer, Peringamala (Respondent No.25) to implement the directions immediately. In implementation of the direction, the 44 female workers were engaged in the 17 vacancies available, on rotation basis. This was done by engaging 17 workers for 15 days and thereafter by engaging the next lot of 17 workers for the next 15 days and so on. This engagement in lots of 17 workers started from 23.6.2012, as evidenced by AnnexureA3 attendance register. All on a sudden, respondent No.24 issued Annexure-A4 communication dated 3.7.2012 to respondent No.25 to stop the practice of engaging casual workers and to restore engagement of daily wage workers. Thereupon, the old system of deploying daily wage workers was restored at the Banana Nursery from 11.7.2012. Some of the female workers included in the casual labourers list were also engaged during this period, which continued up to 14.8.2012.

(2.) The applicants (Respondents 1 to 21 herein) challenged Annexure-A4 letter by filing O.A No.1590 of 2012 before the Kerala Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal, by Annexure-A6 interim order, stayed the operation and implementation of Annexure-A4 letter and directed respondent No.24 to permit the applicants to continue as casual labourers at the Banana Nursery, Peringamala. As directed in the interim order, the respondents started engagement of casual labourers in Annexure-A1 list from 16.8.2012 onwards, by engaging the second lot of 17 workers and continued the cycle of engagement from there.

(3.) In the meanwhile, the 4th respondent published a final seniority list of women casual labourers (Annexure-A8 dated 26.5.2014), based on the number of days worked by each woman casual labourer, during the period from 23.6.2012 to 22.6.2013. Annexure-A8 seniority list was prepared by reckoning the period of one year from 23.6.2012, the date on which the first lot of 17 workers were engaged.