Case: Ram Sarup Vs. State of Haryana and Others

Section 33 of the Punjab Panchayat Samitis and Zilla Parishads Act; 1961 ("The Act") provided in so far as relevant, that subject to rules made by the Government, a Panchayat Samiti may employ such servants as it may consider necessary for the efficient performance of the duties imposed upon it by the Act, rules or bye-laws made thereunder or by. any other law for the time being in force. In pursuance of this power, the appellant was appointed as a clerk on June 1, 1963 by the Panchayat Samiti, Loharu, which is respondent 3 in this appeal. He was confirmed in that post in course of time. On January 21, 1974 he was promoted as a Head Clerk on an ad hoc basis. On March 14, 1975 a resolution was passed by respondent 3 regularising the post of Head Clerk. On April 1, 1975, the appellant was appointed as a Head Clerk.The Punjab Panchayat Samitis, Zilla Parishads (Haryana Amendment) Act, 1973 introduced extensive amendments in the Act of 1961. Section 13 of the Amending Act deleted section 33 of the Act. A plain consequence of this deletion was that the Panchayat Samitis were divested of their power to make appointments to the Panchayats. The Amending Act received the assent of the Governor on April 25, 1973 and was published in the Haryana Gazette on June 13, 1973.Sections 35(1) of the Act empowers the State Government to place at the disposal of a Panchayat Samiti such of its servants as are required for the implementation of the schemes connected therewith and for such other duties and functions as may be assigned to them by the Panchayat Samiti from time to time. Section 35(3) which dealt with the conditions of service of the Government servants allotted to the Panchayat Samitis, was amended by section 14 of the Amending Act of 1973. Sub-section (4) of section 14 of the Amending Act provides that persons employed by a Panchayat Samiti before April 1, 1973 and who were in service at the commencement of the Amending Act s hall continue to service on the same terms and conditions on which they were employed by the Panchayat Samiti", until they are absorbed in the Government service or retire in such manner as may be prescribed.Acting in pursuance of the provision of section 14(4) of the Amending Act, the Government of Haryana notified the absorption of the appellant as a clerk though, as stated earlier he was working as a head Clerk in the Loharu Panchayat Samiti. Being aggrieved by his absorption on a lower post, he filed a writ petition in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, asking that he should be absorbed as a Head Clerk. The writ petition having been dismissed by the High Court, the appellant has filed this appeal by special leave.

Reasoning: We are of the view that the appointment of the appellant was irregular since, he did not possess one of the three requisite qualifications but as soon as he acquired the necessary qualification of five years experience of the working of labour laws in any one of the three capacities mentioned in cl. (1) of Rule 4 or in any higher capacity, his appointment must be regarded as having been regularised. The appellant worked asOfficer from 1st January, 1968 and that being a post higher than that of Labour Inspector of Deputy Chief Inspector of Shops or Wage Inspector, the experience gained by him in the working of Labour Laws in the post ofOfficer must be regarded as sufficient to, constitute fulfillment of the requirement of five years experience provided in cl. (1) of Rule 4. The appointment of the appellant to the post ofOfficer, therefore, became regular from the date when he completed five years after taking into account the period of about ten months during which he worked as Chief Inspector of Shops. Once his appointment became regular on the expiry of this period of five years on his fulfilling the requirements for appointment asOfficer and becoming eligible for that purpose, he could not thereafter be reverted to the post of Statistical Officer. The order of reversion passed against the appellant, was, therefore, clearly illegal and it must be set aside.