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2014 DIGILAW 697 (JHR)

Baha Murmu v. State of Jharkhand

2014-07-04

P.P.BHATT, R.BANUMATHI

body2014
Judgment : R. Banumathi, C.J. These appeals are filed against the orders, all dated 11.11.2013 passed in W.P.(S) Nos. 3417 of 2013; 3427 of 2013; 3411 of 2013 and 3429 of 2013 respectively, dismissing the writ petitions on the ground that charge of negligence against the appellants was found proved and there is no violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India in terminating the services of the appellants as “Rojgar Sewak’. 2. Since common points fall for consideration in all the appeals, all the appeals have been tagged and heard together and shall stand disposed of by this common judgment. 3. The appellants were appointed as Rozgar Sewaks on contractual basis in the MNREGA Scheme. The appellant-Baha Murmu was transferred to Sonadhani Panchayat in Littipara Block; the appellant-Kubraj Marandi was transferred to Littipara Panchyat in Littipara Block, the appellant-Suresh Tudu was transferred to Kunjbona Panchayat in Littipara Block and appellant-Nagen Hembram was transferred to Jamjori Panchayat in Littipara Block. On 28.6.2012 a show cause was issued to each of the appellants on the allegation that muster rolls, job cards, deposit forms etc. were found in the custody of one Shankar Pramanik and Rakshakar Sah, who were not even Government employees and the appellants submitted their replies to the show cause denying the allegations. An inquiry was conducted by the Executive Magistrate and in the inquiry report dated 23.5.2012 it was found that it was the responsibility of the appellants to keep muster rolls cards, job cards and other relevant documents relating to MNREGA Scheme in safe custody; whereas the relevant documents were seized from the possession of Shankar Pramanik and Rakshakar Sah and the charges against the appellants were found proved. The Deputy Commissioner, Pakur vide order no. 856 dated 27.7.2012 terminated the services of the appellants on Rozgar Sewak. 4. Challenging the orders of termination, the appellants filed the writ petitions and the same were dismissed by separate orders, by holding that it was the Rozgar Sewak who were responsible for the safe custody of all the documents and since the copies of muster rolls, job cards and registers were found in the custody of a person who is not in the Government service and specific charge of negligence having been proved, the contract of the appellants was rightly terminated. It was further held that the appellants being appointed on contractual basis the orders of termination of the appellants from service cannot be said to be disproportionate to the charges levelled against the appellants. 5. Being aggrieved by the dismissal of the writ petitions, the appellants have preferred these Letters Patent Appeal. 6. Learned Senior Counsel for the appellants contended that the order of termination of Rozgar Sewaks is unreasonable since the termination order is based on no Government order or Government letter making the Rozgar Sewaks duty bound to make physical verification of the Muster Rolls, Job Cards and to see/follow up of the working of the Mates. It was further contended that the termination on the basis of the letter of the Deputy Commissioner contained in memo no.582 dated 19.5.2011 is unreasonable since there is no rule or Government order that the Rozgar Sewaks are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the Muster Rolls, Job Cards etc. 7. Drawing our attention to the Operational Guidelines of the MNREGA Scheme, learned counsel appearing for the respondents, Mr.Ratnakar Bhengra, submitted that the duties and responsibilities of Rozgar Sewaks and Mates are stipulated in the said guidelines and the Department of Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand, also issued the resolution stipulating the service conditions and responsibilities of Rozgar Sewaks. 8. The contention of the appellants that there are no rules or guidelines stipulating the duties of Rozgar Sewaks and that the Rozgar Sewaks are entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining Muster Rolls, Job Cards etc. is unsustainable. For effective implementation of the MNREGA Schemes, at the Gram Panchayat level, (i) Gram Rozgar Sahayak or Employment Guarantee Assistant and (ii) Mates or Work Site Supervisors were appointed. As per the MNREGA Scheme, Operational Guidelines 2013, Clause 4.1.1 speaks about the responsibility of the Gram Rozgar Sewak as under:- “4.1.1 Gram Rozgar Sahayak or Employment Guarantee Assistant i) Gram Rozgar Sahayak (GRS) will assist the Gram Panchayat (GP) in executing MGNREGA works at GP level ii) GRS should be engaged exclusively for MGNREGA and shall not be assigned any other work. iii) The function of GRS and the Panchayat Secretary should be distinctly outlined. iii) The function of GRS and the Panchayat Secretary should be distinctly outlined. iv) The responsibilities of the GRS are as follows: a. Overseeing the process of registration, distribution of job cards, provision of dated receipts against job applications, allocation of work to applicants etc; b. Facilitating Gram Sabha meetings and social audits; c. Recording attendance of labour every day either himself/herself or through the mate in the prescribed Muster Rolls at the worksite; d. Ensuring that Group mark outs are given at work site for every groups of labourers, so that the workers know the outputrequired to be given to earn wage rate every day. e. Ensuring that all Mates attend worksite on time and take roll calls/attendance in prescribed muster roll at worksite only. f. Ensuring worksite facilities [as defined in para 7.11 of Chapter 7 of the Guidelines] and updating job cards of the workers regularly. g. Maintaining all MGNREGS-related registers at the Gram Panchayat level assist the Panchayat Secretary or any other official responsible for maintenance of MGNREGA accounts; and ensuring that these documents are conveniently available for public scrutiny. v) The GRS should be adequately trained in work-site management and measurement of works.” 9. The Department of Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi, issued the resolution dated 1.6.2007 regarding the service conditions and responsibilities of the Rozgar Sewaks. In Clause 11, it is mentioned as follows:- ^^ijarq dk;Z vlarks"ktud ik;s tkus ij ,sls dk;Zjr inkf/kdkjh@dehZ dh lsok fu;qfDr inkf/kdkjh ds }kjk fdlh Hkh oDr lekIr dh tk ldsxhA^^ 10. The letter of the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Programme Coordinator, Pakur, contained in memo no.582/MENREGA dated 19.5.2011, in which the Deputy Commissioner reiterates the duties and responsibilities of the Rozgar Sewaks as stipulated in the Operational Guidelines. In the said letter, the Deputy Commissioner ordered that the responsibility of maintenance of registers, files, cash books, records, cheque and pass books maintained at Panchayat level should be given to Rozgar Sewaks for smooth and successful completion of the MNREGA Schemes. The responsibility of the Rozgar Sewak to maintain Muster Rolls and other documents is, thus, stated in the Operational Guidelines of MNREGA Scheme and in the resolution issued by the State Government and also in the letter of the Deputy Commissioner. The appellants are not right in contending that the duties and responsibilities of the Rozgar Sewaks as stated by the Deputy Commissioner are not based on any rules/guidelines. The appellants are not right in contending that the duties and responsibilities of the Rozgar Sewaks as stated by the Deputy Commissioner are not based on any rules/guidelines. 11. Learned Senior Counsel for the appellants contended that it was the responsibility of the Mate to maintain the Muster Rolls and other documents and while so, finding of the learned Single Judge that the appellants tried to shift the responsibility on the Mate is an error of record in view of the fact that the termination order clearly shows that sufficient material is available only against the Mate. 12. Learned Senior Counsel for the appellant contended that it was only the responsibility of the Mate to supervise the work sites and keep daily attendance and Muster Rolls and the said Mate is an illiterate person and for getting assistance for making entries of calculation of man-days and wages, the Muster Rolls were given to Shankar Pramanik and Rakshakar Sah. 13. As per the Operational Guidelines, the responsibility of the Mates are: “vii) Responsibility of Mates are as follows:- a. Supervise work-sites b. Capture daily attendance in muster roll c. Give daily mar-outs to groups of labourers and record initial weekly measurements d. Facilitate application for job-cards and submit them to the GP” As per the said Guidelines, Mate should be literate and should have worked in MNREGA Schemes for a reasonable period of time. The Mates are required to record attendance and take initial measurement, which is validated by the Technical Assistant/Junior Engineer. As per the Guidelines, a Mate should be a literate and his responsibility is only for recording attendance. The Rozgar Sewak, who is higher in the hierarchy, is, thus, responsible for maintenance of Muster Rolls and other records. As pointed out by the learned Single Judge, faced with the charges, the Rozgar Sewaks have tried to shift their responsibility upon the Mates. 14. In so far as the contention of the appellants that the order of termination is not supported by any material is concerned, the contract of the appellants were terminated on the ground of proved charges of their involvement in bungling of the MNREGA Scheme by preparing fake muster rolls and connected papers. Based on the complaint, a detailed enquiry was conducted by the Executive Magistrate. Based on the complaint, a detailed enquiry was conducted by the Executive Magistrate. In enquiry, it has been found that the appellants and other Rozgar Sewaks were involved in bungling of MNREGA Schemes by preparing muster rolls and relevant documents with the help of Middlemen Shankar Pramanik/Rakshakar Sah. The letter of the Deputy Commissioner also reiterates that they are responsible for overseeing the process of registration, distribution of job cards and maintenance of Muster Rolls, Cash Books and such other records for the successful/smooth completion of MNREGA Schemes. It is the responsibility of the Rozgar Sewaks for recording the attendance of the labourers every day either by himself or through Mate in the prescribed Muster Rolls maintained at the site and also to ensure that the Mates attend to the worksites on time and take roll-calls/attendance in the prescribed Muster Rolls at the work-site. But during the enquiry, the muster rolls were found with one Middlemen Shankar Pramanik/Rakshakar Sah. In the enquiry report, it is stated that the Mate, Gangaram Thakur, village – Hatbandha, Panchayat Littipara and three other Mates stated that the muster rolls were given by them to Shankar Pramanik and Rakshakar Sah for calculation of man-days and wages. As per the duties and responsibilities stipulated in the Operational Guidelines, it is the responsibility of the Rozgar Sewaks to record attendance of labourers everyday either by himself/herself or through the Mate in the prescribed muster roll at the work site. It is also the responsibility of the concerned Rozgar Sewak to regularly keep and maintain the muster rolls, job cards and employment registers under the MNREGA Schemes. 15. The contention of the appellants that the charges of negligence are not supported by any evidence or material, cannot be countenanced. The Executive Magistrate conducted a detailed enquiry by examining and recording the statements of labourers, Block Programme Officer, Littipara and also Post Master, In-charge at the Sub-Post Office Hiranpur as to the disbursement of the amount to the labourers. The contention of the appellants that the charges of negligence are not supported by any evidence or material, cannot be countenanced. The Executive Magistrate conducted a detailed enquiry by examining and recording the statements of labourers, Block Programme Officer, Littipara and also Post Master, In-charge at the Sub-Post Office Hiranpur as to the disbursement of the amount to the labourers. In the enquiry by the Executive Magistrate, it emerged that the Muster Roll of the MNREGA Schemes are used to be issued by the Block Programme Officer to the concerned Panchayat Sewak/Rozgar Sewak and the Rozgar Sewak used to give the Muster Roll to the Mate and the Mate used to give the same to Shankar Pramanik/Rakshakar Sah for making entries in the Job Cards after calculating the working days and labour cost. In his report (Annexure – 4), the Executive Magistrate held that the charges of negligence and laxity levelled against the Rozgar Sewaks are proved and the Razgar Sewaks failed to discharge their official duties. 16. After issuing the show cause (Annexure – 1 dated 28.6.2012) and after affording sufficient opportunity to the appellants, the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Programmed Coordinator, Pakur, passed the speaking order (Annexure – 3) terminating the contract of the appellants-Rozgar Sewaks on the ground that they have not discharged their duties properly. 17. As seen from the resolution issued by the Department of Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand, Rozgar Sewak must be a Graduate and the Rozgar Sewak is in the cadre of Class III employees. Rozgar Sewak being in the hierarchy of Class III is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining Muster Rolls, Job Cards and Advisory Slips etc. The learned Single Judge rightly observed that the appellants tried to shift the responsibility on their Mates and the said finding cannot be assailed as an error of record. 18. Taking us through the enquiry report (Annexure – 4), learned Senior Counsel contended that during enquiry at least the statement of 15 labourers were recorded and the labourers have stated that they have given their Job Cards to their Mates for calculation and entry of working days. Drawing our attention to the statements of the Post Master, In-charge of Hiranpur, it was submitted that the Post Master had clearly stated that the amount was paid to the labourers and not made to any middleman from the Post Office. Drawing our attention to the statements of the Post Master, In-charge of Hiranpur, it was submitted that the Post Master had clearly stated that the amount was paid to the labourers and not made to any middleman from the Post Office. It was contended that as per the enquiry report, there was no forgery or loss to the State Exchequer and the only allegation is that the Job Cards were handed over to Shankar Pramanik/Rakshakar Sah for making entries of the calculation of the wages of man-days worked in Muster Rolls and while so, the contract of the appellants ought not to have been terminated. 19. In the enquiry report, it is stated that for M.I.S of Muster Rolls, it was directed to despatch the photocopy of job card along with Muster Roll, after updating it according to Muster Roll. The Executive Magistrate observed that “in such situation, the blank job card is an indication of the fact that MIS against those cards have not been done”. The Executive Magistrate clearly recorded the finding that the Rozgar Sewaks were negligent in due discharge of their duties and responsibilities. As per the memo dated 4.6.2007 issued by the Department of Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand, containing the Service Condition and Responsibility Rules 2007, if the services of Rozgar Sewaks are not found satisfactory, their contract are liable to be terminated. The termination of the contract of the appellants cannot be assailed as arbitrary or unreasonable. 20. The order of termination was challenged contending that the punishment of termination of contract is disproportionate to the gravity of the charges and it was, therefore, prayed for quashing of the order of termination. Ordinarily, the Court will not interfere with the punishment awarded unless the punishment is disproportionate to the gravity of the charges shocking the conscience of the Court. The Court has to weigh all the factors, nature of proved charges and nature of duties entrusted, sensitivities and exactness expected from the employees and discipline required to be maintained. 21. MNREGA Scheme is implemented to ensure strong social safety net for vulnerable groups and to empower the rural poor. Effective implementation of the Scheme depends upon the services of the dedicated personnel engaged in MNREGA Schemes. Rozgar Sewaks, who are at the grass root level, are entrusted with greater responsibility of ensuring proper maintenance of records. 21. MNREGA Scheme is implemented to ensure strong social safety net for vulnerable groups and to empower the rural poor. Effective implementation of the Scheme depends upon the services of the dedicated personnel engaged in MNREGA Schemes. Rozgar Sewaks, who are at the grass root level, are entrusted with greater responsibility of ensuring proper maintenance of records. Since success of the MNREGA Schemes depends on the performance of dedicated personnel at the grass root level, the Rozgar Sewaks were expected to discharge their duties with sincerity and dedication. Having regard to the nature of the charges and the materials emerged and also keeping in view the fact that the appellants were appointed only on contract basis, termination of their contract cannot be said to be disproportionate warranting interference. Learned Single Judge rightly dismissed the writ petitions and we do not find any reason to interfere with the same. 22. In the result, all the Letter Patent Appeals are dismissed.