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Himachal Pradesh High Court · body

2009 DIGILAW 1124 (HP)

Ram Chander v. State Of Himachal Pradesh

2009-11-23

KULDIP SINGH

body2009
ORDER : 1. The petitioners had filed O.A. No. 1411 of 1999 before erstwhile H.P. Administrative Tribunal (for short, the Tribunal). The Tribunal was abolished and O.A. No. 1411 of 1999 was transferred to this court in view of Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal (transfer of decided and pending cases and applications) Act, 2008, on transfer the O.A. No. 1411 of 1999 was registered in this Court as CWP(T) No. 5804 of 2008. 2. The learned counsel for the petitioners has confined his submissions only for granting relief of work-charge status to petitioners with effect from 1.1.1994 with all consequential benefits. The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that in the prayer work-charge status for petitioner No. 3 has been inadvertently stated as 1.1.1995. It has been stated that petitioner No. 1 was engaged as Beldar by respondent No. 3 on 1.4.1976, petitioner No. 2 on 19.9.1983 and petitioner No. 3 on 1.1.1984. It has also been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioners that all the petitioners on 1.1.1994 had completed ten years of service with 240 days in each calendar year from the date they were engaged. It has been submitted that in view of Mool Raj Upadhyaya vs. The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors. 1994 Supp (2) SCC 316, the petitioners are entitled to work-charge status after completion of ten years of service. 3. The learned Senior Additional Advocate General has submitted that petitioners have already been regularised w.e.f. 1.1.1998, therefore, the petitioners are not entitled to work-charge status from the date the petitioners are claiming work-charge status. 4. I have considered the rival contentions of the learned counsel for the parties. In Mool Raj Upadhyaya vs. The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors (supra), the Supreme Court has directed as follows: - "4. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, we modify the said scheme by substituting paragraphs 1 to 4 of the same by the following paragraphs: (1) Daily-wage/muster-roll workers, whether skilled or unskilled, who have completed 10 years or more of continuous service with a minimum of . Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, we modify the said scheme by substituting paragraphs 1 to 4 of the same by the following paragraphs: (1) Daily-wage/muster-roll workers, whether skilled or unskilled, who have completed 10 years or more of continuous service with a minimum of . 240 days in a calendar year on 31/12/1993, shall be appointed as workcharged employees with effect from 1/1/1994 and shall be put in the time-scale of pay applicable to the corresponding lowest grade in the government; (2) daily-wage/muster-roll workers, whether skilled or unskilled, who have not completed 10 years of continuous service with a minimum of 240 days in a calendar year on 31/12/1993, shall be appointed as workcharged employees with effect from the date they complete the said period of 10 years of service and on such appointment they shall be put in the time-scale of pay applicable to the lowest grade in the government; (3) daily-wage/muster-roll workers, whether skilled or unskilled who have not completed 10 years of service with a minimum of 240 days in a calendar year on 31/12/1993, shall be paid daily wages at the rates prescribed by the Government of Himachal Pradesh from time to time for daily-wage employees falling in Class III and Class IV till they are appointed as work-charged employees in accordance with paragraph 2; (4) daily-wage/muster-roll workers shall be regularised in a phased manner on the basis of seniority-cum-suitability including physical fitness. On regularisation they shall be put in the minimum of the time-scale payable to the corresponding lowest grade applicable to the Government and would be entitled to all other benefits available to regular Government servants of the corresponding grade." 5. It has not been denied on behalf of the respondents that on 1.1.1994 all the petitioners had completed ten years continuous service with 240 days in each calendar year from the date they were engaged. The work-charge status and regularisation of a workman are two different situations. The daily wage/ muster- roll workers on completion of ten years or more of continuous service with a minimum of 240 days in a calendar year on 31.12.1993 as per scheme modified by Supreme Court is entitled to appointment as work-charge employee w.e.f. 1.1.1994 and is entitled to time scale of pay applicable to the corresponding lowest grade in the government. The regularisation of the petitioners w.e.f. 1.1.1998 as submitted by learned Senior Additional Advocate General has nothing to do with their entitlement for work-charge status on 1.1.1994 as per para-4 (1) of Supreme Court judgement in Mool Raj Upadhyaya. The learned Senior Additional Advocate General has not shown any scheme, rule or regulation which debars a workman for work-charge status on completion of ten years of continuous service, as ordered by the Supreme Court, once the workman has been regularised after 1.1.1994. The work-charge status has some consequential benefits. There is no denial of the fact that work-charge status now can be given to the petitioners notionally w.e.f. 1.1.1994 as all the petitioners have been regularised w.e.f. 1.1.1998, but such notional work-charge status w.e.f. 1.1.1994 shall be with all consequential benefits permissible in law. 6. No other point was urged. 7. The result of above discussion, the petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to give notionally work-charge status to all the petitioners w.e.f. 1.1.1994 with all consequential benefits permissible in law and such decision be taken within a reasonable time. The petition stands disposed of with above directions.