Case: Sabha Shanker Dube Vs. Divisional Forest Officer &amp; Ors

2. The Appellants are daily rated workers employed in Group ‘D? posts in the Forest Department in the State of Uttar Pradesh. They filed Writ Petitions before the High Court of Allahabad seeking regularization of their services, the minimum of the pay scales available to their counterparts working on regular posts and treating them as being in continued service while condoning the breaks in their service. The Writ Petitions were dismissed by a learned Single Judge by a judgment dated 28th April, 2004. Regularization of daily wagers was directed to be considered in accordance with the relevant rules by condoning the breaks in service if it is less than 03 months. It was held that a direction for regularization cannot be issued. The learned Single Judge rejected the claim of the Appellants regarding the minimum of the pay scales by holding that such a direction cannot be granted under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The Special Appeals filed by the Appellants were dismissed by a Division Bench of the High Court of Allahabad by a judgment dated 24th September, 2015 by relying upon its earlier judgment in Special Appeal No.1530 of 20073. Special Appeal No.1530 of 2007 was filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh against the judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 17th October, 2005 in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No.48322 of 2000 and others. The said Writ Petitions were filed by daily wagers working in Group ‘C? and Group ‘D? posts in the Forest Department of the State of Uttar Pradesh. Regularization of services and equal pay for equal work were the reliefs that were sought by the Petitioners in those Writ Petitions. The learned Single Judge allowed the Writ Petitions by directing the State Government to re-consider the Petitioners-therein for regularization of their services, ignoring artificial breaks and by relaxing the minimum educational qualifications and the physical endurance requirements prescribed by the service rules. The Selection Committee was directed to re-consider candidature of all the Petitioners-therein for regularization. Such of those persons who were found eligible for regularization were directed to be regularized in the vacancies that may arise in the future in their respective divisions. There was a further direction that the Petitioners-therein shall be continued on daily wages till their regularization and be paid a minimum of the pay scales4. In the Appeal filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh, a Division Bench of the High Court set aside the directions issued in the Writ Petitions relating to the relaxation of minimum educational qualifications and physical endurance requirements as also the direction pertaining to the minimum of the pay scales to be paid to the daily wagers. The directions issued by the learned Single Judge to relax the conditions of the requisite minimum qualifications and physical endurance requirements were found to be unjustified by the Division Bench. Placing reliance on a judgment of this Court in State of Haryana v. Tilak Raj (2003) 6 SCC 23   and State of Punjab v. Surjit Singh (2009) 9 SCC 514  , the Division Bench of the High Court held that the daily wagers are not entitled to the minimum of the pay scales.

Reasoning:
7. It is necessary for us to refer to the judgment of the Division Bench of the High Court of Allahabad in Special Appeal No.1530 of 2007 as all the impugned Special Appeals were dismissed by following the said judgment. The directions issued by the learned Single Judge to reconsider the Writ Petitioners for regularization of their services by ignoring the minimum educational qualifications and the physical endurance requirements as well as continuance of the Writ Petitioners on a daily wage basis with the minimum of the pay scales were set aside by the Division Bench10. The issue that was considered by this Court in Jagjit Singh (supra) is whether temporary employees (daily wage employees, ad hoc appointees, employees appointed on casual basis, contractual employees and likewise) are entitled to the minimum of the regular pay scales on account of their performing the same duties which are discharged by those engaged on regular basis against the sanctioned posts. After considering several judgments including the judgments of this Court in Tilak Raj (supra) and Surjit Singh (supra), this Court held that temporary employees are entitled to draw wages at the minimum of the pay scales which are applicable to the regular employees holding the same post11. In view of the judgment in Jagjit Singh (supra), we are unable to uphold the view of the High Court that the Appellants-herein are not entitled to be paid the minimum of the pay scales. We are not called upon to adjudicate on the rights of the Appellants relating to the regularization of their services. We are concerned only with the principle laid down by this Court initially in Putti Lal (supra) relating to persons who are similarly situated to the Appellants and later affirmed in Jagjit Singh (supra) that temporary employees are entitled to minimum of the pay scales as long as they continue in service12. We express no opinion on the contention of the State Government that the Appellants are not entitled to the reliefs as they are not working on Group ‘D? posts and that some of them worked for short periods in projects.