Shasticharan Mahato vs State of Jharkhand

Mr. Shree Chandrashekhar, J. - Prayer in the writ petition is for regularization of the petitioners who have been working on different Class-IV posts on daily wages under the Department of Forest and Environment, Government of Jharkhand.

Heard.

The petitioners, who have been working in the Dalma Wildlife, Sanctuary, Jamshedpur on daily wages; petitioner No. 2 since 1982, claim that they were engaged against the posts which were sanctioned and vacant. In the counter-affidavit, however, the respondent-State has taken a stand that the petitioners are employed as per the requirement of work and they are paid for hours of work. It is stated that they have been engaged for works pertaining to road repair, protection, maintenance, plantation etc. and they are paid on the basis of work executed by them, which is recorded by the Forest Guard in a muster-roll. It has been denied that the petitioners have been appointed on sanctioned vacant posts.

However, the stand taken in the counter-affidavit is not supported by any documentary evidence. It has also not been disclosed whether the State Government has approved rate for payment on hourly basis. On the contrary, in the counter-affidavit dated 07.08.2013 filed by the respondent No.9, the respondents have stated that the petitioners have been paid salary @ Rs.145.54 per day. Evidently, the stand taken in the Supplementary-affidavit dated 09.11.2016 is false. The counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent-State is completely vague and appears to have been filed only for denying the claim raised by the petitioners.

In response to averments in paragraph No.23 of the writ petition, the respondents have admitted that this Court passed an order directing the respondent-State to grant preference to daily wages employees over the outsiders when the posts of Forest Guards are filled up. Not only that, the respondent-State has been directed to grant age relaxation also to the applicants. Prima-facie, it appears that ignoring the aforesaid directions and contrary to its own counter-affidavit, now counter-affidavit dated 08.11.2016 has been filed raising disputes which are not borne from the record of the case.

Admittedly, the State Government has framed rules which was notified on 13.02.2015 for regularization of Class-IV employees as one- time measure, in terms of direction issued by the Supreme Court in "Secretary, State of Karnataka & Others v. Umadevi (3) & Others" reported in (2006) 4 SCC 1 There are certain conditions for regularization of Class-IV employees.

Mr. Jitendra S. Singh, the learned counsel for the petitioners referring to letter dated 21.06.2016 submits that in response to letter of Deputy Conservator of Forest-cum-Regional Director, Elephant Project, Jamshedpur a list of employees who have been working on daily wages on different Class-IV posts has been sent by the Range Forest Officer. I find that the chart appended to letter dated 21.06.2016 discloses that these employees were engaged on instruction of superior authorities and they are working on daily wages. The Forest Range Officer has endorsed the eligibility of these employees, recommending that they all are laborious and disciplined workers and they can be regularized in service.

In "Jharkhand Van Shramik Union Daltonganj, South Forest Division, Palamau, Daltonganj v. State of Jharkhand and Ors." ( W.P. (S) No. 2404 of 2010) in somewhat similar situation, this Court issued the following direction :

"Accordingly, respondent nos. 2 and 3 are directed to initiate the process for regularisation of daily wages employees working in the Department, in terms of Notification dated 13.02.2015, and complete the process within six months. Observation of the Conservator of Forest in paragraph no. 8 of the impugned order dated 05.11.2009 where under he has held that them embers of the petitioner-union are not working on sanctioned post shall not apply to those daily wages employees whose names appear in the list annexed along with letter dated 31.12.2008. It is further clarified that this order is not confined only to the employees in the instant writ petition rather, the process of regularisation of daily wages employees working under the Department of Forest and Environment shall cover all such employees who are working for more than 10 years under the Department of Forest and Environment".

In the facts of the present case, it is ordered that the respondent-State shall first examine whether at the time of the petitioners'' engagement/appointment or immediately thereafter, posts on which they were appointed/engaged were vacant or not, and if at the time of their appointment/engagement there were sanctioned posts vacant, the respondent-State shall consider granting benefit to the petitioners as if they were appointed/engaged on sanctioned vacant posts.

Let claim of the petitioners be also examined along with others, for regularization.

The writ petition is allowed, in the aforesaid terms.