IMPORTANT POINT
Engagement as casual labourers even for considerable long duration does not confer any legal right on a person.

JUDGMENT

D.K. Jain, J. —

1. Leave granted.

2. These two appeals, by special leave, are directed against the judgment and final order dated 5th January, 2010 delivered by the High Court of Judicature at Madras, whereby the High Court, in slight modification of the order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Madras Bench (for short “the Tribunal”), has directed that the respondents shall be given a relaxation of five years and three years respectively to SC/ST and OBC candidates in age limit for being considered for selection to the post of Sepoy in the Central Excise department, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. However, the High Court has directed that the said relaxation would be applicable to those candidates who were actually erstwhile employees of the said department.

3. Shorn of unnecessary details, the facts essential for adjudication of the present appeals may be stated as follows:

The respondents were engaged as part-time contingent casual labourers-purely on temporary basis in the Office of the Commissioner of Central Excise, Chennai Zone, in the year 1999. As per offer of appointment on record, they were required to work on the basis of the need of the office, for which they were to be paid @ ‘10/- per working hour with no guarantee as regards minimum number of hours in a month. In para 7 of the said letter, it was stated that the appointment letter would not confer any right to claim any permanent post in the department as also any automatic right to be considered for selection to any permanent post in the department. Most of them were in continuous employment for a period ranging from 8 to 14 years. It is common ground that none of the respondents fall within the purview of 1993 scheme, notified on 10th September, 1993, for conferring temporary status and regularisation of casual workers, who were in employment on 1st September, 1993, all of them having been engaged after the said date.

4. On 2nd May, 2005, in compliance with the directions issued by the Ministry of Finance, the appellants dispensed with the services of all such casual labourers and handed over the work done by them to contractors. Aggrieved by the said action the respondents herein, approached the Tribunal by preferring an original application, (O.A.No.764 of 2005) seeking regularisation of their services. The said O.A. was dismissed by the Tribunal. Against the order of dismissal, the respondents filed a writ petition before the High Court. While disposing of the writ petition, the High Court directed the appellants herein to consider the matter afresh in light of the circulars issued by the Department of Personnel in O.M.No.49019/1/2006-Estt(C) dated 11th December, 2006 as also the circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance dated 7th September, 2007 and 13th September, 2007. These circulars were issued pursuant to the order passed by this Court in the case of Secretary, State of Karnataka & Ors. Vs. Umadevi (3) & Ors.1 (2006) 4 SCC 1, inter-alia directing the Union of India, State Governments and their instrumentalities to take steps to regularise, as a one time measure, the services of such irregularly appointed employees, who are duly qualified in terms of the statutory recruitment rules for the post and who have worked for ten years or more in duly sanctioned post but not under cover of orders of Courts or Tribunals.

5. Upon a fresh consideration in terms of the said direction, the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise found that the respondents were not eligible for regularization of their services as they did not satisfy the criteria laid down in the case of Umadevi(3) (supra) and Office Memorandum dated 11th December, 2006, issued by Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

6. On 14th January, 2008, the office of the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Chennai Zone, issued a notice inviting applications for recruitment to 40 (37 GC & 3 OBC) posts of Sepoy (General Centra