UION OF INDIA Vs. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed for quashing order dated August 6, 2004 (Annexure-4), by which the Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal' for the sake of brevity) allowed O.A. No. 933 of 2003 filed by respondents No. 2, 3 and 4, who were casual workers for direction to the authorities concerned (petitioners of this writ case) to confer upon them temporary status and thereafter consider them for regularisation.

(2.) Learned counsel for the Union of India (petitioner) has submitted that Casual Labourers (Grant of Temporary Status and Regularisation) Scheme, 1993 (Annexure-2) (hereinafter referred to as 'the Scheme' for the sake of brevity) was not an ongoing scheme and temporary status can be conferred on casual labourers under the scheme only on fulfilling the condition incorporated in Clause-4 of the Scheme that there should have been casual labourers in employment on the date of commencement of the Scheme and that they should have rendered continuous service of at least one year i. e. 240 days in a year or 206 days in a year in case of offices having 5 working days in a week.

(3.) Petitioners' learned counsel also averred that Clause 4(i) of the Scheme specifically provided that "Temporary status would be conferred on all casual labourers who are in employment on the date of issue of this O.M. (office memorandum) dated September 10, 1993 and who have rendered a continuous service of at least one year which means that they must have been engaged for a period of at least 240 days (206 days in the case of offices observing 5 days week)." Hence, according to him the said Scheme was applicable to only those casual labourers who were engaged prior to the date when the scheme came into force and had completed one year by that date.