SURESH CHANDER Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) C.W.P. No. 4378 of 1984 of being decided alongwith C.W.Ps. Nos. 3847,5351 and 10325 of 1994 because in all these petitions more on less identical prayers have been made by the petitioners for regularisation of their services as Work Munshish/Work Mistris/Work Supervisors in the service of the Government of Haryana.

(2.) In order to adjudicate upon the claim of the petitioners, a brief reference to the facts is necessary. Petitioners Suresh Chander and Kuldeep Singh in C.W.P. No. 4378 of 1994 joined service in the department of Public Health on 1.2.1984 and 12.6.1984 respectively on being appointed as Work Munshis in the pay-scale of Rs. 400-600. Two apparendy, contradictory conditions were incorporated in the order of their appointment. One of these conditions was that the appointment of the petitioners would be on temporary and on work-charged basis which could be terminated at any time without assignment of any reason and without any opportunity of explanation, and the other condition was that the petitioners would remain on probation for a period of one year. Petitioners successfully completed the period of probation. This assertion is supported by Annexure P. 3 issued in favour of petitioner No. 1 Suresh Chander. Both the petitioners continuously served the department as Work Munshis and they were holding the said posts on 31.3.1993. The Government of Haryana took a policy decision to regularise the services of the Work- charge/daily wage/casual employees. In order to give effect to this policy, the Government issued circular letter dated 27.5.1993 (Annexure P. 4), whereby it directed the regularisation of services of all work-charged employees who had completed 5 or more years of service as on 31.3.1993 and where in service on 31.3.1993. It was also made clear that on regularisation, the employees were liable to be transferred in the State of Haryana on any project/work. All Heads of Departments were directed to take necessary action regarding regularisation of services of the work-charged employees within 15 days in consultation with the Finance Department, if considered necessary. While the petitioners were entitled to be regularised in service as Work Munshis, the departmental authorities attempted to coerce the petitioners to accept regularisation on the posts of Water Pump Operators Grade II. This coercion was brought on the petitioners with a subtle threat fo termination of their services if they were not to accept regularisation on the said posts. The petitioners submitted their representations on 4.3.1994 and gave their 'no objection' to the proposed action fo the respondents to regularise them as Water Pump Operators Grade II but incorporated a condition that if at a later point of time posts of Work/Supervisors/Work Munshis were to be filled they should be appointed against diose posts. Vide Annexure P. 9 dated 23.3.1994 the Superintending Engineer, P.W.D. (Public Health), Circle Rohtak, returned the consent letter given by petitioner No. 1 with the remarks that conditional consent cannot be accepted. Immediately thereafter, order Annexure P. 10 dated 30.3.1994 was issued by the Superintending Engineer and the petitioners were regularised as Water Pump Operators Grade II. By other orders issued by the Superintending Engineers of Hisar, karnal and Ambala Cantt, Circles, persons who were working as Work Munshis/Work Supervisors/Work Mistris were regularised in service on the same posts.

(3.) Petitioners have claimed that after having served for more than 5 years as 31.3.1993, they had become entitled to be regularised in service on diose very posts on which they were working on 31.3.1993, but the respondents have without any legal authority and justification regularised their services as Water Pump Operators Grade II and in this manner the petitioners have been discriminated. Reliance has been placed by the petitioners on Annexure P. 6 dated 16.12.1993 by which sanction of the Governor of Haryana was conveyed for creation of 4278 additional posts for regularisation of services of the work-charged employees. These included the post of Work Supervisors/Work Munshis/Work Mistris and for Rohtak Circle II such posts were sanctioned.