JAI BAHADUR YADAV Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) 1. By these writ petitions, the petitioners appointed as 'Accredited Engineers', under clause 5.5 of the Operational Guidelines framed by the Central Government in the year 2006, as non-governmental and non-departmental Engineers empanneled on contract, after their selections by the selection committees constituted in accordance with the Government Order dated 17.7.2006, for preparation and supervision of the projects in the socio-economic schemes framed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, have prayed for quashing the Government Order dated 23.10.2008 to the extent that it amends clause 5.4 of the National Rozgar Guarantee Yojana published on 8.2.2007 and the advertisement dated 19.12.2008/20.12.2008 by which the State Government has provided for obtaining the services of the Technical Assistants at the Village Panchayat level and Technical Assistants at the Block Development level, through service providers. The advertisement published by the State Government under the Government Order dated 16.12.2008 (CA-2), provides for appointment of the service provider on contract by a Committee at the regional level. With this new arrangement the services of the petitioners are to be dispensed with effect from 31.3.2009.

(2.) HEARD Shri B.N. Singh assisted by Shri Namit Kumar Sharma; Shri Ashok Khare, Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Pradeep Verma and Shri Chetan Chatterjee for the petitioners. Shri Jaideep Mathur, Additional Advocate General assisted by Shri Ravi Ranjan, Standing Counsel has appeared for the state respondents. Dr. Ashok Nigam, Additional Solicitor General of India assisted by Shri Triloki Singh, Additional Standing Counsel has appeared for the Union of India. Shri Shashi Nandan, Senior Acvocate, assisted by Shri Udayan Nandan has appeared for Rama Infotech Pvt. Ltd. through its director Shri Ajai Gupta, the newly impleaded respondent. After exchange of affidavits and with the consent of parties, all the matters were finally heard.

(3.) THE Office Orders issued by the Project Director, District Rural Development Authority, provided for approval of the names of the petitioners as Technical Assistants under the Government Order dated 3.9.2007. Other than the details of the payment as described above and the provisions in clause-5 of the scheme, that the honorarium shall be paid from out of the administrative expenses made available to the Programme Officer under NREGA, and the provisions in clause-6 that the Gram Panchayat under one Nyay Panchayat would be allotted by the Programme Officer/Block Development Officer of the Kshetra Panchayat, there are no other term in the Office Orders as regards to the conditions of their service, or the period for which the Technical Assistants are to be engaged. THE last paragraph of each Office Order provides that if the Technical Assistant is found to be guilty in any matter, his name will be removed from the panel in accordance with the procedure provided in the Government Order. THE petitioners joined and are working as Technical Assistants in their assigned Gram Panchayats.