JAMMU: In a landmark judgment giving relief to the daily wagers who have already completed seven years of service J&K High Court directed the state to regularize their services. The order has been passed by First Puisine Judge Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar in a petition filed by Swarn Singh.
Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar observed that petitioner claims to be a daily rated worker in Public Health Engineering department since 1992, which is disputed by counsel for the respondents by stating that petitioner was engaged in 1996. Be that as it may, at the first instance petitioner sought benefit of appointment on the ground that 50% of agricultural land belonging to the family of the petitioner was acquired by the respondents in 1992 for construction of a tube-well, therefore, he was entitled for appointment on the basis of SRO 181 of 1988.
However, the said plea was rejected by the Chief Engineer, PHE, Department vide letter dated 8th May, 2002 by holding that petitioner donated the land voluntarily which is less than 50% of his total land and SRO 181 was withdrawn in 1991 whereas the land was acquired in 1992, therefore, petitioner was not eligible for appointment. The aforesaid rejection order was challenged in SWP No. 1572/2001. The objection of the respondents appears to be justified, because SRO 181 of 1988 comes with a shelf life and that period has already expired and that the petitioner was not qualified because land was donated subsequently and he does not fall within those criteria. The alternate prayer of the petitioner is that he should be considered for regularization in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Daily Rated Workers/Work-charged employees (Regularization) Rules, 1994 notified vide SRO 64 and in terms of Govt. order dated 06.11.2001, wherein it is accorded that under Jammu and Kashmir Daily Rated Workers/Work-charged employees (Regularization) Rules, 1994 the daily rated workers who were engaged prior to 31.01.1991 were eligible for regularization after completing seven years of continuous service.
Petitioner challenged the order of Chief Engineer who declined to grant benefit of SRO 181 dated 03.06.1998 in lieu of land donated on the ground that he did not come within the criteria that is to say that SRO 181 came to an end in the year 1991. In the present case, the petitioner was appointed only 3 in the year 1996 as per the respondents-department. However, the authority fail to consider the claim of the petitioner for regularization in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Daily Rated Workers/ Work-charged employees (Regularization) Rules, 1994 and in terms of SRO 64 of 1994 amended by Govt. order No. 1285-GAD dated 06.11.2001.
First Puisine Judge Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar after hearing both the sides disposed of petition with the direction to the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioner on completion of seven years of continuous service.