DEVENDRA SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard counsel for the parties.

(2.) Petitioners in both the writ petitions were engaged on daily wage basis between 1979 to 1985 in the Water Resources and Irrigation Department under the State of Bihar. As per their case, they were removed in the year 1994. They moved the Patna High Court with a prayer to reinstate them in C.W.J.C. No. 2286 of 1999(Patna). The learned Single Judge vide judgment dated 8.4.2002(Annexure-13 to W.P.S. No. 5660 of 2003) made an observation by giving liberty to the petitioners to bring the matter to the notice of the Secretary, Water Resources Department, Government of Jharkhand as also the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Bihar Vrs. Laghu Sichai Karmchari Sangh and others passed in S.L.P. (Civil) No. 18164 of 1999 (Annexure-12), whereupon the Secretary, Water Resources Department would consider the cases of the petitioners and determine as to whether their cases are governed by the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the resolution dated 18.6.1993 (Annexure-4) and whether their cases are required to be considered along with those named, as has been called for vide letter No. 10/01 dated 9.10.2001 or not within a period of 6 months. It appears that the petitioners' removal from service was not interfered with earlier in the proceeding initiated before the Patna High Court as would appear from the reading of the judgment dated 8.4.2002. The Patna High Court in Civil Review No. 272 of 1997 appears to have observed that the removal will not affect in the matter of regularization of services of petitioners. In view of the judgment rendered by the Patna High Court dated 8.4.2002, the Secretary, Water Resources Department passed an order contained in letter No. 3262 dated 11.7.2003 which is impugned in both the writ petitions whereby the claim of the petitioners for regularization has been rejected on the ground that they are not covered by the judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Laghu Sichai Karmchari Sangh & others as the services of the petitioners had been terminated long before. The respondent-Secretary, Water Resources Department held that the case of the petitioners could not be considered along with names of those who presently continued to work on daily wage basis.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has after referring to the scheme of regularization under resolution No. 5940 dated 18.6.1993 and the judgment rendered in the case of Laghu Sichai Karmchari Sangh & others made a submission that the case of the petitioners have been wrongly rejected. They also fall under the category of daily wage who should have been considered for regularization in terms of the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. These petitioners have remained on daily wages engagement for a considerable length of time before the cut of date of 1.8.1985 till their removal in 1994.