GOPALAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this Original Petition for a writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to reckon the part-time service rendered by the petitioners for the purpose of granting the entire service benefits and to declare that the petitioners are entitled to get the entire service benefits reckoning their part-time service also and to grant the benefit of Grade Promotion to the petitioners, in accordance with the IVth and Vth Kerala Pay Commission Orders, to quash Ext. P3 order. The petitioners are full-time contingent employees working under the Education Department. The grievance of the petitioners is that their entire service including part-time, is not counted for their service benefits. Their representation submitted to the authorities were not attended to. The first petitioner was appointed as Part-time contingent Menial in the Government U.P. School, Thavidissery on 7.8.1968. He became a full-time employee on 12.1.1982. He has got 25 years service without any break. All the other petitioners joined the service as part-time contingent employees and later their services have been converted into full-time. Ext. P1 is the list of employees, showing the date of joining as part-time contingent employee and also as full-time contingent employee. The duties and responsibilities of both the part-time and full time employees are one and the same. Therefore, the petitioners are entitled to the benefits conferred on the full time employees. The Government have accepted the recommendations of the IVth Kerala Pay Commission, relating to the scale of pay and allied matters. It reads as follows:

(2.) As per the above order of the Government, all the employees under the service of the Government could get grade promotion on completion of 10 years or 20 years respectively. Government issued another order on 1.11.1989, whereby a further grade was granted to the Government employees on completion of 25 years. While dealing with a similar case, this court in Joyce v. State of Kerala ( 1992 (1) KLT 777 ) held that the service mentioned in the Government Orders speaks about service without qualification. According to the counsel for the petitioner, the only requirement to be satisfied for the purpose of getting the benefits under the Government Orders is the completion of respective years of service. The petitioners submitted Ext. P2 representation to the Government. The Government denied the benefit prayed for by the petitioners under Ext. P3. A Division Bench of this Court held in K. K. Marikar v. P.S.C. that the service used in the Rule includes provisional service also. In Vasu Pillai v. State of Kerala ( 1986 KLT 198 ) also the court dealt with the expression, 'contingent service'. It reads as follows:

(3.) No counter has been filed by the State. Therefore, in the light of the Division Bench decision of this Court, I find that the petitioner is entitled to reckon the part-time service for the purpose of granting the entire service benefits. They are also entitled to the benefit of grade promotion, in accordance with the IVth and Vth Kerala Pay Commission Reports. Ext. P3 letter is therefore, liable to be quashed.