S KARUPPANNAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners 1 to 8 seeking to quash the order of the Tribunal refusing the grant of relief sought for by the petitioners to take them for appointment to Group 'D' post with all monetary and service benefits have filed this writ petition.

(2.) According to the petitioners, they were engaged with the Railway Construction Organisation as casual labourers; they have put in considerable number of days of service after their engagement in the year 1981; they have not been regularised whereas a number of other casual labourers with 277 days of aggregate service have been regularised as Group 'D'; and therefore, they sought Mandamus from the Tribunal.

(3.) The case of the respondents is, as per the Railway Board's letter dated 18.12.1980, the casual labourers are to be engaged only after obtaining prior approval of the General Manager and such authorisation shall not be delegated to the lower level; though the applicants had been engaged as casual labourers after 1.1.1981, the names of those have not been registered in the live casual register as there was a ban conveyed by the Railway Board's letter and as such, they are not entitled for regularisation.