Naurang Ram vs The State of Rajasthan and Others

Mohammad Rafiq, J.—Petitioner has filed this writ petition praying for quashment of order dated 16.07.1997 and 31.08.1992, so far it relates to petitioner and petitioner be declared to have been regularized with effect from 19.01.1974, the date of his initial appointment, with all consequential benefits.

Petitioner is metric passed and also cleared typing test. He was appointed on the post of Lower Division Clerk (for short, ''the LDC'') by Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Fatehpur, District Sikar, in its office on 19.01.1974, on temporary basis. Since his initial appointment, he possessed the requisite qualification for the post of L.D.C. Respondents regularized the services of petitioner along-with other employees in accordance with Second proviso to Rule 64(1) of the Rajasthan Agriculture Produce Marketing (Market Committee Employee) Services Rules, 1975. These regularizations were made of those who were in service on or before 30.06.1974. Thereafter petitioner''s pay was fixed in the minimum scale of LDC with effect from 19.01.1975. Services of Shri Rameshwar Lal and Ramdev Singh, who were appointed on 06.12.1975 on the post of LDC/Chowkidar/Class-IV on temporary basis much after appointment of petitioner and that too on the post of Class IV, were regularized on the post of LDC along-with eight other employees of various Krishi Upaj Mandi Samitis, vide order dated 21.07.1982 and they were given the seniority from the date of their initial appointment i.e. 06.12.1975. Moreover, two employees of the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, who were junior to petitioner, have also been regularized in the year 1982 and given the seniority from the date of their initial appointment, whereas petitioner has been discriminated and he has not been given seniority and has been denied benefit like promotion and selection scales. Thereafter vide order dated 31.08.1992 the services of 216 employees of various Krishi Upaj Mandi Samitis were regularized and petitioner''s name as also included therein, but it remained silent on the point of date of seniority. Writ Petition No. 1507/1997, filed by petitioner, was disposed of by this court vide order dated 02.05.1997 with a direction to respondents to consider and decide his case within four weeks and in case petitioner is not satisfied therewith then liberty was given to him to challenge the same. The respondents thereafter vide order dated 16.07.1997 made it clear that the services of petitioner have been regularized only on 31.08.1992. Hence this writ petition.

Learned counsel for petitioner has argued that Rameshwarlal and Ramdev Singh were also appointed by the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti on 06.12.1975, much after appointment of petitioner on the post of Class-IV and services of these employees were regularized on the post of Lower Division Clerk along-with eight other employees of various Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti vide order dated 21.07.1982 and seniority was given from the date of their initial appointment i.e. 06.12.1975, as apparent from the seniority list dated 31.03.1992. Petitioner is senior to all the ten employees referred to in the order dated 21.07.1982. Petitioner further submitted that as his services have been regularized after due selection under Rule 64(1) of the Rajasthan Agriculture Produce Market (Mandi Samiti Employees Service) rules, 1975, the seniority could not have been denied to him. It was also urged by the petitioner that once his services were regularized in 1977 and his name was placed in the seniority list, there was no occasion to regularize the service again vide order dated 31.08.1992, hence the impugned orders are superfluous and unwarranted. Since petitioner''s juniors were regularized and given seniority from the date of their initial appointment, petitioner could not have been discriminated with.

On the contrary, learned counsel for respondent has submitted that the appointment was made on daily wage basis on 19.01.1974. List of employees was prepared, who were working and appointed through the Employment Exchange. Services of petitioner were not through the Employment Exchange. The decision was taken to give benefit of increment in the year 1982 but same was not approved. It was further submitted that in the case of Rameshwarlal, condition for calling the name from the Employment Exchange was relaxed, therefore, he has been given the seniority from the date of his initial appointment, whereas selection of the petitioner was not through the Employment Exchange, thus, he has not been given seniority from the date of his initial appointment. The case of petitioner was examined in the light of directions given by this court in Writ Petition No. 1507/1997, decided on 02.05.1997 thereafter order dated 16.07.1997 was passed.

Services of petitioner were regularized under Second Proviso to Rule 64(1) of the Rules of 1975 and his name was placed in the seniority list dated 09.02.1977 (Annexure P-3), thus there was no occasion to regularize his services again vide order dated 31.08.1992. Once the services of juniors of petitioner, who were appointed in the year 1975, have been regularized in the year 1982 and they were given seniority from the date of their initial appointment i.e. 06.12.1975, the petitioner should also be given the benefit of regularization from the date of his initial appointment. The Respondents could not explain why similar treatment has not been given to petitioner as was given to Rameshwarlal. Condition for calling the name from the Employment Exchange was relaxed in the case of Rameshwar Lal and he has been given the seniority from the date of his initial appointment. The respondents could have also relaxed this condition in the case of petitioner. Action of respondents in not relaxing the condition of calling the name from the Employment Exchange as was extended to Rameshwarlal, is arbitrary and discriminatory.

In the result, writ petition is allowed. Impugned orders dated 31.08.1992 (Annexure P-8) and 16.07.1997 (Annexure P-10) are quashed and set-aside. Respondents are directed to treat the petitioner Class-IV employee to be regularized on the post of Lower Division Clerk from the date of his initial appointment on the said post with effect from 19.01.1974 at par with his junior persons, namely, Rameshwarlal and Ramdev Singh, Class-IV employees, who were promoted on the post of L.D.C. from the date of their initial appointment viz. 06.12.1975 along with eight other employees of various Krishi Upaj Mandi Samitis with all consequential benefits such as seniority, increments and pay revision etc. Petitioner shall however be entitled only to notional benefits for the intervening period.

Compliance of the judgment shall be made within three months from the date, copy of this judgment is produced before the respondents.