BHAGAT RAM Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Being aggrieved with the inaction of the respondents, whereby they failed to regularize the services of the petitioner on completion of eight years of services, in terms of letter (Annexure P-1), where it stands clearly stipulated that handicapped with disability of more than 40% would be regularized on completion of eight years of service, petitioner has approached this Court in the instant proceedings.

(2.) Before ascertaining correctness of the claim, as has been made by the petitioner, certain undisputed facts, which may be relevant for the adjudication of the present petition are that petitioner was engaged in the respondent Department as daily wage Chowkidar in August, 1992. In nutshell, the grouse of the petitioner is that since he had completed eight years of service on 1.1.2001, with 240 days in each calendar year, respondents ought to have regularized his services with effect from 1.1.2001 with all consequential benefits in terms of letter dated 22.5.1999 (Annexure P-1). Perusal of aforesaid communication reveals that Government of Himachal Pradesh, decided in principle that all the daily waged workers of work charge categories are to be regularized with effect from 1.4.1998, who are having more than 40% disability and have completed 8 years of continuous service with 240 days in each financial year, as on 31.3.1998 and as such, Registrar, HPPWD directed all the Superintending Engineers in PWD to prepare seniority lists of such daily waged workers, enabling Department to take steps for creation of required number of posts. As per petitioner, he was entitled for regularisation of services on completion of eight years of service in terms of aforesaid clarificatory instructions issued by the respondents. Petitioner claimed that he is suffering from permanent disability to the extent of 100% as is evident from annexure P-3 and as such, entitled for the benefit of being regularized on completion of eight years of services in terms of instructions contained in communication dated 22.5.1999 (Annexure P-1). Averments contained in petition reveal that the petitioner was regularized with effect from January, 2004 as a consequence of which, petitioner has been deprived of benefit of serving upto the age of 60 years, had the respondents regularized him on completion of eight years of service, petitioner would have been entitled to work upto the age of 60 years. In the aforesaid background, petitioner approached erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal by way of OA No. 712 of 2005, which now stands transferred to this Court and re-registered as CWPOA No. 296 of 2019, with following main reliefs:

(3.) Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the reply filed by the respondents, this Court finds that though the petitioner was engaged with the respondents in October, 1992 on daily wage basis but he had not completed 240 days in the year 1992. Man days chart placed on record clearly reveals that in the year 1992, petitioner had only worked for 92 days, however, as per policy of the Government, dated 6.5.2000, whereby decision was taken to regularize the services of the daily waged workers, who had completed 8 years of continuous service with 240 days in each calendar year as on 31.3.2000, services of the petitioner were regularized initially as work charge Chowkidar vide communication dated 11.1.2007 (Annexure P-2). Pursuant to aforesaid conferment of work charge status, petitioner joined on 17.1.2007 without there being any protest, as is evident from joining report placed on record as Annexure R-3. It also emerges from the reply filed by the respondents that subsequently, pursuant to directions issued by the Hon'ble Apex Court in celebrated case of Mool Raj Upadhyay , services of all the daily wage workers who had completed 10 years of continuous service as on 31.12.1993 or employees who had completed one or more years of service but not completed 10 years of service as on 31.12.1993, were regularized on completion of ten years of service with 240 days in each calendar year. In compliance to aforesaid judgment passed by Hon'ble Apex Court in Mool Raj Upadhyay , Government vide communication No. Fin-F(4)-1/2006 dated 20.2.2008, approved re-fixation of the payment of the work charged brought into regular establishment working under the Division who had completed 10 years or more of continuous service with a minimum of 240 days in non-tribal area and 180 days in tribal area in each calendar year as on 31.12.1999, 31.17.2000, 31.12.2001, 31.12.2002 and 31.12.2003 as daily waged worker.