MANI DEVI Vs. BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS O.A. has been filed under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking the following relief:

(2.) AVERMENT has been made in the OA that the applicant Smt. Mani Devi who belongs to SC category was engaged as Part Time Safai Savika under Respondent No. 4 w.e.f. 03.06.1994. Her claim for conversion to full time casual labourer from the date her junior, one Sh. Lala Ram, Respondent No. 5 was granted status of full time casual labourer is based on order No. 269 -13/99 -STN -II dated 25.08.2000 on the subject Conversion of Part Time Casual Labourers working for less than 4 hours per day into full time casual labourers. (Annexure A -5).

(3.) IN the written statement filed on behalf of the respondents preliminary objection has been taken that the OA is barred by limitation as the order regarding grant of status of full time casual labourer to Respondent No. 5 was issued in the year 2000 and the applicant has impugned this order 13 years later. It is also stated that the Scheme and Letter No. 269 -10/89 -STN dated 07.11.1989 were not applicable to either Sh. Lala Ram or the applicant as this Scheme was only applicable to the casual labourers who were engaged prior to 30.03.1985. Moreover, the Apex Court vide judgment dated 2.4.1997 in Civil Appeal No. 360 -61 of 1994 in the case of Secretary Ministry of Communications Vs. Sakkubai and another had held that the Casual Labourer (Grant of Temporary Status and Regularization) Scheme was not applicable to part time casual labourers. Also the applicant had never made any representation to the Respondent Department and had approached the Tribunal directly. Hence the present OA was premature.