PRADEEP KUMAR ROY Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) These writ petitions, W.P. (L) No. 2852 of 2019 filed by Pradeep Kumar Ray and others, and W.P. (L) No. 3783 of 2019 filed by Dinesh Poddar, bring forth common questions of law and have therefore, been considered together. The petitioners in these cases were employed as casual workmen by the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, Government of Jharkhand. Their roles included nalkup-khalasi, hand pumpman, khalasi, handpump mechanic, and jhadukash. Each petitioner claims to have worked for various periods ranging between 1980 and 2017, completing more than 240 days of work each year.

(3.) The core grievance of the petitioners is that, after submitting representations seeking regularization of their services, their employment was terminated through oral orders. They were informed that reinstatement would be possible only if they agreed to contract employment. Dissatisfied, the petitioners raised an industrial dispute regarding their abrupt oral termination before the Executive Engineer and the Superintendent Engineer of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, Government of Jharkhand.