BINDESHWAR MAHTO Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein by the present writ petition has prayed for quashing the letter dated 12.02.2014 whereby and whereunder the services of the petitioner for the period 20.02.1995 to 20.08.2012 has not been counted and instead he has been treated to be a fresh appointee resulting in forfeiture of his entire past services and the consequential benefits. It has been further prayed for directing the respondents to pay the salary for the period 20.02.1995 to 20.08.2012, during which the petitioner had been arbitrarily kept out of service.

(2.) The short facts of the case are that the petitioner herein was initially engaged as a daily wage worker on Class-IV post and subsequently he was retrenched. Thereafter, the petitioner had filed a representation to permit him to continue on daily wage. The Engineerin-chief cum Additional Secretary, Road Construction Department had then by his letter dated 20.07.1987 directed the Executive Engineer, Road Division, Sitamarhi to engage the petitioner as a daily wager on Class-IV post. The petitioner was then appointed as a road labourer vide letter dated 206.1987. Subsequently, the Executive Engineer vide his office order dated 24.11.1987 appointed the petitioner in the work charged establishment on a regular pay scale. In between, there was some confusion with regard to the appointment of the petitioner to the effect that as to whether he had been appointed on compassionate ground or not? The respondent Executive Engineer by letter dated 20.01995 had terminated the services of the petitioner by stating that the petitioner had been wrongly appointed on compassionate ground. The said order of termination dated 20.01995 was challenged before this Court in CWJC No. 115 of 1997 and the same was disposed of by an order dated 09.09.2010, whereby and whereunder the Superintending Engineer, Road Construction Department, North Bihar Road Circle, Muzaffarpur was directed to enquire into the genuineness or otherwise of letter no.7846, with a further direction that in case the said letter is found to have been issued by the Engineer-in-chief, Road Construction Department directing appointment of petitioner as Road Labourer, appropriate orders be passed in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of receipt/ production of a copy of the said order.

(3.) Apparently, the respondents failed to comply with the aforesaid direction issued by this Court leading to the filing of the contempt petition by the petitioner herein bearing MJC No. 2039 of 2012 which was disposed of as withdrawn by an order dated 28.2012 in view of issuance of office order bearing Memo No. 1850 dated 21.8.2012 whereby and whereunder the respondents had appointed the petitioner on the vacant post of peon under the Road Division, Sitamarhi. The petitioner is said to have joined the said post on 24.8.2012 and thereafter the petitioner has been continuously discharging his duty to the satisfaction of the authorities concerned, but his salary has been fixed treating him as a fresh appointee and thereby the entire past services have not been counted, resulting in the petitioner being prejudiced gravely. The petitioner had filed a representation before the various authorities, however, vide letter no. 274 dated 12.2.2014, the respondent no.3 has communicated to the petitioner herein that since the petitioner was appointed on the post of peon vide letter dated 21.8.2012 and he had not worked in between the period 20.02.1995 to 20.08.2012, the said period cannot be counted for the purposes of his service period nor he can be paid any salary for the said period.