IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA CWP No. 4914 of 2009 Date of Decision: 10.11.2010 ____________________________________________________________________ Tulsi Ram …Petitioner. Versus. State of H.P and others. …Respondents. Coram: The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Deepak Gupta, Judge. Whether approved for Reporting? . No. For the petitioner: Mr. Abheyender Gupta vice Mr. A.K.Gupta, Advocate. For respondents: Mr. Rajesh Mandhotra, Dy. A.G. Deepak Gupta, J. 1. The petitioner was engaged as Mason on daily wages on 1.1.1987. In between his services were terminated. He challenged his termination order before the Labour and Industrial Court and this matter was decided in his favour on 4.1.2002. However, he was not granted any back wages but he was granted benefit of service rendered by him from the date of reference i.e. from the year 1997 for the purpose of working out his seniority and continuity in service. The State filed CWP No. 1034 of 2002 challenging the said order which was dismissed. 2 2. The petitioner’s claim is that in terms of the policy framed by the respondent-State his services had to be regularized on completion of 8 years of service in the year 2005. He accordingly seeks such a direction. 3. The stand of the respondent is that the petitioner cannot be regularized since he does not fulfill the essential educational qualification of having passed middle examination as per the R & P Rules. 4. I have heard learned counsel for the parties. 5. It is by now well settled that where a person is appointed on daily-wage basis, his qualification for eligibility to the post, to which he is appointed, is to be seen, at the time of his initial engagement as daily-wager and not at the time when his turn comes for regularization, as per policy of the Government. Reference in this behalf may be made to judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court, in Bhagwati Prasad versus Delhi State Mineral Development Corporation, AIR 1990 SC 371, and judgment dated 23rd April, 2010, delivered by a Single Bench of this Court, in CWP (T) No.3214 of 2008, titled as Sita Ram versus Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board and another. 3 6. In view of the above stated position the writ petition is allowed and the respondents are directed to consider the case of the petitioner for regularization as Mason, from the date when he completed eight years of service as daily-wage worker from the year 1997 ignoring the minimum educational requirement of middle pass as prescribed in the Recruitment and Promotion Rules of Mason. No order as to costs. 10th November, 2010 ( Deepak Gupta ) ™ Judge.