GANGA PRASAD GURUNG Vs. VIJOY KUMAR AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition filed on 23-8-1981, the writ petitioner has challenged the order of termination of his services passed on 9-7-80 by respondent 1 and his main ground of attack is, that the provisions of Art. 311 of the Constitution have been violated in making the impugned order.

(2.) The petitioner, according to his own case made out in the petition, "was appointed as a Chowkidar on work charged establishment for Lower Lagyap Hydel Project, Sikkim", and his appointment order, copy . whereof has been made Annexure "A" to the petition, also shows that he was "offered a temporary post of chowkidar on work charged establishment" in the aforesaid Hydel Project "on monthly pay of Rs. 196.00 in the scale of Rs. 196-3-220-EB-3-232 plus other allowances as admissible from time to time to work charged staff under the Government of India" on certain terms and conditions. The terms and conditions material for our present purpose may be extracted from Annexure "A" as hereunder:-

(3.) Mr. Deb, the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents, has firstly urged that the petitioner being a work charged employee cannot be regarded to have held a civil post' within meaning of Art. 311 and cannot, therefore, invoke the protective provisions of that Article. Mr. Deb has secondly urged that even assuming that the Art. 311 is applicable to the employment of the petitioner, there was in fact no non-compliance with the provisions thereof. And Mr. Deb has finally urged that, at any rate, the present petition must be dismissed because of the inordinate delay made by the petitioner in moving against the impugned order of termination and also because of laches and acquiescence on the part of the petitioner.