BADRI NARAYAN ROUTRAY Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the rejection of his claim for regularization of service by the Additional Chief Secretary to Government in Finance Department (Opposite Party No. 1), the Petitioner has preferred the instant application seeking the following relief:

(2.) The facts of the case, relevant only for deciding the present application are as follows: Pursuant to instruction issued by the Director of Treasuries and Inspection, Orissa (Opposite Party No.2) by letter dtd. 4/8/2009, the Treasury Officer of Jajpur had appointed the Petitioner and another person as Peons against the contractual posts created by the Government in Finance Department Letter No. 97 dtd. 1/1/2009 at the consolidated salary of Rs.2550.00. As such the Petitioner was appointed and posted in the Sub-Treasury Office, Sukinda against the vacant post vide order dtd. 18/8/2009 of the Treasury Officer, Jajpur. On 16/4/2011, the Directorate of Treasuries and Inspection, Orissa, Bhubaneswar directed all Treasury Officers to furnish a report as to whether the procedure such as calling of names from Employment Exchange, observation of ORV Act and advertisement in Newspapers had been properly followed at the level of Treasury Officer while filling of the contractual posts of Peons/Watcher-cum-Sweeper (WCS) in Treasury/ Special Treasury/Sub-Treasuries. Pursuant to such letter the Treasury Officer, by letter dtd. 21/6/2011 intimated that proper procedure had been followed while filling up the post of Peon in the Sub- Treasury, Sukinda. It was categorically stated that public notice was given in the Notice Board on 1/7/2009 inviting applications from persons interested to join in the post of Peon and WCS. Subsequently, eight numbers of applications were received and scrutinized by a committee formulated by the Treasury Officer. The candidates were called for an interview and basing on their performance in such interview, the petitioner and one Sanjay Kumar Parida were appointed as peons while one Paresh Kumar Patra was appointed as WCS at Sub-Treasury, Sukinda. While the matter should thus, the Government of Odisha, General Administration Department issued Resolution dtd. 17/9/2013 with regard to regular appointment of existing contractual Group C and Group D employees upon satisfactory completion of six years of service by providing that they shall be deemed to have been regularly appointed and that a formal order of regular appointment shall be issued by the appointing authority. No action was taken in the matter of regularization of the service of the Petitioner and his services were only renewed from time to time. A gradation list was prepared for contractual employees. It is stated that some of the similarly placed employees as the Petitioner were regularized in service ignoring his case. The Directorate of Treasuries, in his letter dtd. 7/7/2014 addressed to Opposite Party No.1, furnished the list of contractual Class-IV employees, who had completed six years of contractual service for regularization of their services against Class- IV posts and in the said list, the name of the petitioner found place at Serial No. 9. Upon receipt of such letter, the Opposite Party No. 1 sought for certain clarifications, which were duly furnished by opposite party No.2. While the matter stood thus, the Petitioner's scale of pay was revised and he was also allowed to draw grade pay vide office order dtd. 5/1/2015. Since no step was taken to regularize his services, the petitioner approached the erstwhile Odisha Administrative Tribunal by filing O.A. No. 941(C)/2015.

(3.) Be it noted here that the Petitioner was originally engaged as Peon on 16/11/1994 against the leave vacancy for 45 days. The prayer of the Petitioner for regular appointment not having been considered, he had approached the Odisha Administrative Tribunal in O.A. No. 814 (C)/1995, which was disposed of by granting liberty to him to submit a representation before Opposite Party No.2 within a period of thirty days with a direction that the same shall be considered by the said authority and the decision communicated to the Petitioner within a period of six months. By order dtd. 30/4/98 the Deputy Director of Treasuries and Inspection informed that the grievance of the Petitioner for appointment shall be considered as against Class-IV post in view of the G.A. Department Resolution dtd. 22/9/1989 provided the recruitment process is taken up in the near future. The Petitioner challenged the said order before the Odisha Administrative Tribunal in O.A. No.1500(C)/2000, which was disposed of by directing that if the authority wants to fill up these posts, the name of the Petitioner along with others shall be considered provided he is eligible for the same. In view of the interim order passed by the Tribunal in the aforesaid case the Petitioner was engaged on temporary basis against a contractual post of watcher-cum-sweeper in the Sub-Treasury, Dharmasala vide order dtd. 30/4/2005 till the end of February with the consolidated remuneration of Rs.2500.00 subject to his giving an undertaking that the contractual appointment shall be renewed subject to satisfactory performance. Thus the 1st appointment given to the Petitioner is in the year 2005.