IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. C.W.P. No. 1099 of 2009. [O&M] Date of Decision: 15th March, 2010. Rajinder Kumar Petitioner through Mr. R.S.Manhas, Advocate Versus State of Punjab & Ors. Respondents through Mrs. Charu Tuli, Sr. DAG, Punjab. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT. 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? SURYA KANT, J. [ORAL) The petitioner is aggrieved at the order dated 16.01.2009 [Annexure P-19] whereby his services as Pump Operator have been de-regularized. The petitioner was appointed as a Mali-cum-Chowkidar on daily wages on 1.9.1988. He was later on appointed as Pump Operator, again on daily wages, in the year 1992. It appears that at one point of time, the services of some of the daily wagers who were working as Pump Operators were regularized on pick and choose basis and/or for extraneous considerations without framing any uniform or transparent criteria/policy. All these persons have now been reverted one by one after observing the principles of natural justice. The petitioner is also amongst those who, has been found to be not entitled to regularization of his services as per his placement in the seniority of Pump Operators. It is not in dispute that on being assigned seniority w.e.f. 1.1.1992, no person junior to the petitioner has been made regular except Jagwant Singh son of Shri Gurmej Singh and Sarwan Singh son of Mohan Singh, as disclosed in the additional affidavit filed by the Executive Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation [RWS] Division, Pathankot today in Court, which is taken on record. The petitioner, on the other hand wants that he should be treated as a daily wage Pump Operator w.e.f. 1.9.1988, when he was appointed as Mali-cum-Chowkidar. In my considered view the said claim of the petitioner is wholly misconceived for the reason that the post of Pump Operator is higher in rank and pay scale as compared to that of Mali-cum-Chowkidar. The petitioner's contention that his services could not be de-regularized after a period of five years, also carries no substance. As observed earlier, the petitioner is one of the beneficiary of the arbitrary misuse of power by the then authority when services of daily wagers were regularised on pick and choose basis and by over- looking the claim of senior persons. He can not allowed to reap the fruits of an illegal action when admittedly persons senior to him as daily wage Pump Operators are still awaiting for regularization of their services. For the reasons afore-stated, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction that no person junior to the petitioner shall be kept in regular capacity as Pump Operator and, if so required, their services shall also be de-regularized on or before 31.05.2010. The resultant vacancies shall be filled up by regularising the services strictly as per seniority-cum-suitability. The petitioner shall, however, be kept as a daily wager Pump Operator till his services are regularised as per turn. Disposed of. Dasti. March 15, 2010. ( SURYA KANT ) dinesh JUDGE