HASEENA BEGUM Vs. UT OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed the present petition for directing the respondents to regularise/confirm her services on the analogy of previously engaged employees, who were absorbed/confirmed by the respondents. Further, prayer has been made for directing the respondents to release the unpaid wages/salary of the petitioner.

(2.) The petitioner has approached this Court for the grant of the above mentioned reliefs by pleading in the petition that she was engaged as sweeper in the year 2009 against a clear vacancy and by proper procedure and ever since then, she has been performing her duties to the satisfaction of the respondents. The petitioner was also paid wages for some time but subsequently the respondents, without any rhyme or reason, did not permit the petitioner to mark her attendance, as the respondents wanted to engage some other person, thereby depriving the petitioner of the salary as well as her right to the post/position. It is also stated that the similarly circumstanced employees working in the Municipal Committee in the sanitary Sec. are performing their duties and are being paid their wages. The petitioner also deserves to be treated at par with the similarly circumstanced employees of the Municipal Committee. It is also stated that certain employees appointed prior to the petitioner have been regularized and their seniority has been fixed and they are being paid their wages regularly. The petitioner has placed on record her engagement order, the bank account statement to demonstrate the payment of salary and the communication dtd. 7/10/2017 directing the Municipal Councils/Committees to utilize the services of the existing CPWs for sanitation/sweeping purposes only.

(3.) The respondents have filed their response, wherein it is pleaded that the petitioner was engaged in Municipal Committee Sumbal by the then President, Municipal Committee Sumbal, on pick and choose basis in the flagrant violation of the mandate of Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution of India without following any criteria, more particularly, without any approval by the competent authority as prescribed by sub Sec. (1) of Sec. 307 of J&K Municipal Act, 2000. It is also pleaded that the petitioner has not been working with the Municipal Committee Sumbal since June 2013, therefore, she is not entitled to any wages. It is further pleaded that the whole record of the Municipal Committee has been seized by the Vigilance Organization, relating to the illegal appointments made by the Municipal Committee Sumbal without approval under Sec. 307 of J&K Municipal Act.