GANESH KHARE Vs. PRINCIPAL SECRETARY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall govern the disposal of all the Writ Petitions mentioned above, in which common questions of fact and laws are involved.

(2.) FOR the sake of convenience, the facts stated and the materia' available in the record of Writ Petition Nos. 1265 3/2010,12582/2010,12652/2010, 14198/2010 and 12694/2010 are being referred to in this order.

(3.) FACTS relevant for deciding the petitions indicate that petitioners in all these cases are presently service contractors engaged by the respondents, for the purpose of meter reading and distribution of biils. According to the petitioners, they were initially appointed in the year 2000 as Meter Readers by the then existing M.P. State Electricity Board. Their initial appointment was on contract basis and the same was renewed from time to time. It is the case of the petitioners that even though in the respondents establishment various regular posts of Meter Readers and Class IV Technical posts were available, but with a view to avoid grant of regular service benefit to the employees like the petitioners, the novel method of contract appointment was initiated. The system of contract appointment continued for sometime and the petitioners worked as contract employees for various periods. Subsequently, it is stated that in the year 2008, the system of contract appointment itself was done away with and a different method of appointing the petitioners themselves as service contractors was brought into force and by an agreement entered for a period of one year the petitioners herein were given the service contract for the purpose of meter reading and distribution of bills. A copy of the contract is available in the record of each case and in Writ Petition No. 12653/2010, it is available at page 69 of the paper book. The contract indicates that it was entered into on 31.12.2008 for a period of one year and the conditions of contract were stipulated therein, which mandated the contracting person to go to the premises of the customer, record the meter reading and do certain ancillary works, like checking of the meter, illegal connection and theft of electricity, certain incentive were also given for detecting theft and pointing out irregularities, if any, in the premises and for enhancing the collection of revenue. The arrangement had continued for sometime, but all of a sudden it seems that in the year 2009 a Notification was issued wherein it was indicated that henceforth service contract for the purpose of meter reading will be granted only to such persons, who are not beyond 40 years of age. As a result many of the persons, who were having the contract for meter reading were debarred from continuing with the contract. Aggrieved of the aforesaid action, a Union of the employees - M.P. Vidyut Meter Vachak Sangh, and certain other persons filed a writ petition before this Court being Writ Petition No. 1110/2009. Apart, from challenging the action of the respondents in restricting the contract to certain categories of persons on the basis of age criteria in these writ petitions, various other reliefs for regularization, grant of permanent status and various other benefits were claimed. Initially, an interim order was passed in one of the writ petitions being W.P.No. 1110/2009 and finally all the writ petitions were decided by a common order passed on 28.6.2010, by a Division Bench of this Court. Copies of the order passed in the said writ petition is filed as Annexure R/3, in Writ Petition No. 12653/2010. and the order reads as under: