HIMACHAL PRADESH STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. DAYAL SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Writ petitioner, Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board is aggrieved by the order dated December 18, 1997, passed by the H. P. State Administrative Tribunal In O. A. No. 628 of 1996, whereby the prayer of respondent Dayal Singh for regularization of his services as Air Compressor Operator, from the date he became eligible for such regularization, in terms of the settlement arrived at in the Hon'ble Supreme Court, has been ordered. Therefore, the present writ petition, under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, has been filed for the judicial review of the aforesaid order of the State Administrative Tribunal.

(2.) Facts relevant for comprehending the controversy may be summed up thus: Respondent Dayal Singh was employed as Air Compressor Operator on daily wages basis in May, 1982 in Rongtong Construction Division of the petitioner. In the year 1987, when the project in connection with which the respondent was employed completed, he (the respondent) was shifted to Thirot Construction Division, Bhunter. Some litigation between the daily wages workers and the State Electricity Board, that is the petitioner, was pending in the Hon'ble Supreme Court. That was settled amicably. Terms of the settlement were reduced into writing and filed in the Hon'ble Supreme Court. That litigation was disposed off in terms of the said settlement. The copy of the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court containing the terms of settlement is on record as Annexure P-7. One of the terms of the settlement was that the writ petitioner would regularize the services of those of the daily paid persons, working in various Units, who had completed five years of uninterrupted service as on April 30, 1991, strictly on the basis of seniority, in each category of daily paid staff, subject to availability of posts. It was also a condition of that settlement that only that daily paid staff was to be regularized which possessed minimum educational qualification prescribed for the regularposts. The respondent, who had been in continuous service since 1982, as Air Compressor Operator, was not appointed on regular basis, in terms of the aforesaid settlement. He filed an Original Application before H. P. State Administrative Tribunal, being O.A. No. 628 of 1996. During the pendency of that Original Application, he was offered the post of Beldar, on regular basis. The order contained two conditions, one that the respondent shall withdraw the writ petition/original application/legal proceedings instituted by him, before joining the post and that he will not file any petition in future claiming equal pay for the alleged equal work, for the period prior to September 8, 1997. The respondent made an application to the Tribunal, seeking a direction to the petitioner, that he (the respondent) be allowed to join as Beldar on regular basis, subject to the final decision of the Original Application, already filed by him. That application was allowed, vide order dated October 3, 1997 by the Tribunal. The respondent then joined as Beldar.

(3.) The Original Application filed by the respondent before the Tribunal was contested by the present writ petitioners. It was alleged that initially the respondent was employed in connection with some project at Rongtong Construction Division in May, 1982 and that on the completion of that project, the respondent became surplus and so he was accommodated in Thirot Construction Division, Bhunter. It was alleged that the adjustment of the respondent did not give him seniority over the staff already working in the division in which he was adjusted, i.e. the Thirot Construction Division, Bhunter. It was also alleged that the seniority of respondent was to be counted in the later mentioned division from the date of his joining the service, i. e. June 11, 1987. It was also alleged that the services of daily rated workers, with five years of uninterrupted service, were to be regularized, depending upon the availability of the posts. It was further stated that the aforesaid settlement provided for the regularization of the services of only those daily rated workers, who possessed the qualifications prescribed for the regular posts. It was alleged that minimum qualification for the post of Air Compressor Operator was Matriculation with I.T.I, and since the respondent did not fulfil that qualification, he had not been regularized as Air Compressor Operator, but was offered the regular post of Beldar, which he accepted and hence there was no merit in his Original Application.