MAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been moved under Article 226 of Constitution of India for mandamus directing the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioners as class IV employees with respondent Jal Sansthan and also for payment of arrears of salary from the date of their initial appointments.

(2.) BRIEF facts of the case are that petitioners are working as part time Fitters under Assistant Engineer, Garhwal Jal Sansthan, Chinyali Saur, district Uttarkashi and were engaged between 1984 to 1994. The nature of duties of the petitioners is not less than that of the regular and permanent employees of the Jal Sansthan but by being kept on daily wages they are being deprived of salary payable to the regular employees. The petitioners are working uninterruptedly since they were engaged but still after more than 10 years they are being paid wages in the name of honorarium at the rate of Rs.400.00 per month. It is alleged in the writ petition that the principle of equal pay for equal work enshrined in Article 39(d) of the Constitution of India is being violated as the petitioners are not being given even the minimum wages prescribed by the State Government for other departments. Demands were raised by the petitioners through a charter before Executive Engineer, Garhwal Jal Sansthan, Uttarkashi in the year 1997. in which the demand No.7 was relating to the minimum wages. The negotiations were held with the Executive Engineer and the demands were sent to the head office of Garhwal Jal Sansthan at Dehradun. Quoting the various judgments of the Supreme Court including that of Surendra Singh Vs Engineer in Chief (1986) S.C.C. (L & S) page 189, Nehru Yuvak Kendra Vs State (1986) S.C.C. (I & S) page 1987, R.D. Gupta Vs Union of India1987(3) S.C.C. page 526, E.P. Royappa Vs State of Tamil Nadu - 1974 (Supreme Court) 555, it is stated "in the writ petition that the petitioners are being exploited by making meager payment of Rs 400.00 per month. As such, the petitioners have demanded the pay "scale of Rs 750 -940 and sought mandamus against the respondents by filing this writ petition.

(3.) RESPONDENT No.2, 3 and 4 have filed Joint -counter affidavit wherein stand taken by the petitioners is denied. It is stated that the job of petitioners is very causal in nature as part time fitters are engaged for one scheme and chosen from the village where the scheme runs. They are at liberty to carry out their other job simultaneously. The main duty with part time fitter to report to department if dislocation of any pipe line is seen by him. Their claim to be at par with regular employees can not be accepted nor they are being exploited.