V GUNASEKARAN Vs. REGISTRAR OF CO OPERATIVE SOCIETIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are employed as Jewel Appraisers in the services of the 3rd respondent/The Trichy District Central Co-operative Bank Ltd. According to the petitioners, they completed more than seven years of service. The post of Jewel Appraisers in the 3rd respondent- bank, according to the petitioners, is a permanent post and as many as 32 Jewel Appraisers are employed throughout the day by the 3rd respondent- bank and the Jewel Appraiser like the petitioners work for the whole day in the bank and their job is not confined to testing the fineness of the jewels pledged with the 3rd respondent-bank.

(2.) According to Mr. R. Viduthalai, learned counsel for the petitioners, the work performed by the petitioners and other Jewel Appraisers includes enrolling the jewel loan applicants as members, testing the fineness of the jewels affer filling up the jewel loan band, payment vouchers, payment receipts, dischargr receipts, maintaining the jewel loan ledgers and filling up the jewel loan chitta. The petitioners are licence-holders under the Gold Control Act. Even though the petitioners work throughout the day, they are treated as part-time employees. The petitioners are exclusively employed by the 3rd respondent bank and they do not work in any other establishment. The petitioners are paid only no commission basis at the rate of Rs. 1.50 per Rs. 1,000, the latter representing the jewel loan amount.

(3.) The 1st respondent is the head of the co-operative institutions in the State of Tamil Nadu and the 2nd respondent is the Regional Head. Both of them have the over-all control and supervision of the 3rd respondent- bank. The petitioners were recruited in the year 1985 and they have completed 7 years of continuous service without any break. In fact, as per the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workment) Act, 1981, which applies to the 3rd respon. den establishment, all the petitioners should be made permanent since they have completed more than the minimum period of 480 days of continuous service in a period of 24 calendar months According to the petitioners, they have a valid licence issued under the Gold Control Act to work as Jewel Appraisers aud as such, they are eligible to be employed as permanent Jewel Appraisers of the 3rd respondent-bank. The petitioners were appointed by the 3rd respondent more than seven years back and they were not sponsored by the Employment Exchange. Now, taking advantage of this fact, respondent 1 and 2 are treating the posts held by the Jewel Appraisers as vacancies and have sought to fill the 32 posts occupied by the petitioners and other persons similarly placed like the petitioners, and had direct recruitment for the above posts. The petitioners submit that in view of the long years of experience and the valid licence held by them, they should have been made permanent and no recruitment should have been resorted to treating the posts held by them as vacancies.