ORDER : Sandeep Mehta, J. The matter was listed for orders on the application filed by the respondents for early hearing of the writ petition. With the consent of the learned counsel representing the parties, the writ petition was heard finally at that stage itself. 2. Succinctly stated facts essential & relevant for the sake of disposal of the instant writ petition are noted herein below. 3. The petitioners herein were engaged as Computer Operators with Machine by the District Election Officer cum District Collector, Pratapgarh on contractual basis in the year 2009. Thereafter, they were given extensions from time to time and were also transferred to various offices under the Collector cum District Election Officer, Pratapgarh. One of the transfer orders has been placed on record as Annex.8 under which, the petitioner Rajesh Kasara was transferred to the Directorate of Human Development for assisting in the control room created for prevention of child marriages. The petitioner Naveen Kumar Jains services were utilized for working as an E-Mitra under E-Gram Project vide order (Annex.9). By order (Annex.12) dated 14.6.2011, the petitioners were assigned duties in the District Level Emergency Operation Centre established for the purpose of Food/Disaster control. The petitioners have tried to demonstrate that the respondents are continuously requiring their services and that the petitioners are virtually being made to work regularly on the posts of LDCs by designating them to be contractual Computer Operators with machines. Such an action as per the petitioners is in gross violation of the mandatory provisions of the Contract Labour Abolition Act. The petitioners are being paid pittance of honorarium for their services which are being utilized round the clock for various important assignments. The respondents, in order to deliberately wriggle out of the relationship of employer with the petitioners, issued the order (Annex.13) dated 21.5.2012 whereby, the Planning Department of the Government of Rajasthan has directed that the contractual services of Men with Machine shall only be extended upon them being engaged through firms (placement agencies). Being aggrieved of the said order, the petitioners, apprehending that they would be shunted out of services and would be forced to sign a work/service contract through a placement agency, have approached this Court by way of this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. 4. Being aggrieved of the said order, the petitioners, apprehending that they would be shunted out of services and would be forced to sign a work/service contract through a placement agency, have approached this Court by way of this writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. 4. I have heard the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the petitioners and learned counsel for the respondents and have gone through the material available on record. 5. The respondents have not denied the fact that the requirement of the petitioners? services persists till date in various offices covered under the umbrella of the District Collector, Pratapgarh. It is also undisputed that the petitioners are giving satisfactory services right from the date of their initial contractual engagement. For a period of almost three years, the petitioners were being given extensions of the direct service contract, which was executed by the District Election Officer cum District Collector, Pratapgarh. Thus, there was no occasion whatsoever for changing the status of the petitioners from contractual employees with the Government to employees engaged through placement agencies. This via media tactic adopted by the respondents in an endeavour to change the status of the petitioners from contractual employees of the Government to ones acquired through placement agencies is absolutely unreasonable, arbitrary and highly questionable. The welfare State being an ideal employer is under an obligation to protect the rights of its citizens and not to exploit them. By issuing the order (Annex.12), the Planning Department of the Government of Rajasthan has acted contrary to its constitutional obligations. This Court examined in detail, a similar controversy in Mooli Devi Choudhary & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. (S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6568/2010) decided on 25.8.2010 and laid down as below: "(ii) Question No. 2 is answered like this that since the State Government has not so far enacted any law nor it has laid down any guidelines or parameters for selection of private placement agencies, therefore, practise of giving away such contract by the State Govt. to the private placement agencies is unconstitutional and cannot be sustained and the teachers and other related staff in SSA or KGBV cannot be treated as employees of private placement agencies whether such projects are financed by the Central Government or the State Government or any other agency." 6. to the private placement agencies is unconstitutional and cannot be sustained and the teachers and other related staff in SSA or KGBV cannot be treated as employees of private placement agencies whether such projects are financed by the Central Government or the State Government or any other agency." 6. In the case at hand, the service contracts, which were executed by the respondents with the petitioners was in relation to the functioning of the District Collector, Pratapgarh as an Election Officer and since thereafter, the petitioners? services have been utilized in various offices discharging statutory functions. As such, it cannot even be held that the services of the petitioners were being utilized in any project etc. Thus, the position of the petitioners stands on a much better footing than those who approached this Court in Mooli Devi's case (supra). 7. Consequently, I am of the firm opinion that the action of the State authorities in attempting to convert and alter the status of the petitioners from direct contractual employees under the District Collector, Pratapgarh to employees engaged through a firm or a placement agency cannot be approved as being grossly illegal and unconstitutional. 8. The writ petition thus deserves to be and is hereby allowed. The impugned notification/order (Annex.13) dated 21.5.2012 (Annex.13) issued by the Planning Department of the Government of Rajasthan whereby, the District Collectors concerned have been directed to extend the services of the Computer Operators with machines only upon being engaged through firms/placement agencies is declared to be illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional and is hereby quashed and set aside. The respondents shall continue to utilize the petitioners services as Computer Operators with machine on contractual basis and shall not replace them by another set of contractual employees procured either directly or through placement agencies. The contract of the petitioners shall be renewed periodically till the requirement of their services subsists and their services are found satisfactory. However, upon regularly selected candidates becoming available, the respondent authorities shall be free to replace the petitioners with a strict adherence to the principle of "last come first go". No order as to costs.