NIRMAL KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition, the petitioners have challenged the validity of Office Order No. 71 dated 11.4.1996 issued by the Secretary of the Bihar State Scheduled Caste Co -operative Development Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the Corporation'), contained in Annexure 10, whereby and whereunder a direction has been issued to take necessary steps by issuing order terminating the employment of all daily wagers, including the petitioners, who were appointed after 1.8.1985.

(2.) According to the case of the petitioners, the Corporation was established by the State of Bihar under the Welfare Department with an object to identify families of Scheduled Caste belonging to the weaker Section of the society and provide them funds, grants and loans to establish village or small industries related to leather, bamboo and cane tailoring, laundry and other small business establishment including purchase of rickshaws, auto -rickshaws and other motorised vehicles so that they achieve economic self -sufficiency and come up above the poverty line. It is stated that the Board of Directors of the Corporation in their various meetings decided to appoint daily wagers against large number of vacancies on various posts, which were duly sanctioned. The petitioners claim to have been appointed in pursuance of the resolution of the Board taken in 36th and 37th Board's meetings, and the Managing Director issued appointment letters in September -October 1987 appointing them on daily wages to the post of Field Organisers. It is stated that there were 135 posts sanctioned and created for the Fields Organisers which are an important link and arm of the Corporation since they were the persons entrusted with the responsibility to identify, motivate and provide the necessary inputes for providing various assistance including finance to the identified persons to become economically independent. According to the petitioner, they were also saddled with the responsibilities of collecting various instalments for repayment of loans granted to the beneficiaries.

(3.) The corporation as per the Board's decision, vide Office Order No. 96 dated 13.3.1987 decided to absorb 103 persons working as Field Organisers keeping in view their long period of work. The petitioners were transferred from one District to another and were assigned specific target to be achieved by them. According to them, they were also deputed for election duty and other such duties which required large helping hands of the Government employee like Pitra Paksh Mela at Gaua. etc. and their work was satisfactory. In the month of March 1989, the Corporation decided to remove some of the employees from service and the matters was referred to the Labour Commissioner who after considering the issue directed that since most of the persons had put in more than 240 days and they were working for a long period of time, they should be reinstated, whereupon necessary order in this regard was issued by the then Administrator on 16.3.1989, contained in Annexure -6.