The authorities must extend benefits of regularization to similarly situated individuals, adhering to principles of equality and prior judicial decisions.

ORDER :

1. Writ Petition is filed by the State under Article 226 of Constitution of India, calling in question the order dated 05.06.2020 in application No.2046/2017 passed by Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, Kalaburgi, whereby the Tribunal allowed the application and directed the respondents to consider the case of the applicant for regularization of his service as considered to the co-officials as per the Official Memorandum dated 19.04.2006 and grant all consequential benefits within a period of four months from the date of receipt of copy of this order.

2. The parties shall be referred to as per their rankings before the Tribunal for easy reference.

3. A brief outline of the facts leading to filing of the present petition are as under:

The name applicant/private respondent herein has been sponsored by the District Employment Exchange Office (Annexure-A1) and directed respondent No.5 to interview for the post of ‘D’ group employment. The respondent No.4 has conducted interview and appointed applicant to the post of peon as per order dated 01.09.1987 (Annexure-A2). Subsequently, the services of the applicant has been continued in the Health Department as group ‘D’ group employee on daily wages from 10.09.1987. The respondent No.3 has sought the service records from respondent No.4 in order to regularize the services of the applicant (Annexure-A5). In response to requisition by respondent No.3, respondent No.4 has furnished the information along with salary statement from September 1987 to November 2007 to respondent No.3 (Annexure-A6). The applicant till his retirement has been continued as daily wage employee even though the information stated supra was supplied, but was not considered for regularization. The applicant had worked for a total period of 25 years 9 months till his retirement as per Official Memorandum dated 15.06.2013 (Annexure-A7). The appointment of the applicant was made against a vacant post and subsequent to establishment of Zilla Panchayat with effort from 01.04.1987, all the departments stood transferred to Zilla Panchayat and as such the services of applicant also stood transferred to Zilla Panchayat by Government order dated 01.04.1987 to 1994. Certain persons similarly situated that of the applicant approached this Court in Writ Petition No.33541-33571/1998 and other connected cases. This Court on 10.09.1999 directed the respondents to consider the case of petitioners in the said petitions for regularization. The order passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court was called in question in Writ Appeal No.2765-2905/2000 (S-Res), which comes to be dismissed on 23.01.2001. Subsequently the government issued Official Memorandum dated 19.04.2006 and the co-officials similarly situated as that of applicant have been regularized who have completed 10 years of service. The applicant preferred a Writ Petition before this Court in W.P.No.101986/2013 at Kalaburagi Bench seeking regularization in terms of Official Memorandum dated 19.04.2006. This Court by order dated 16.12.2013 relegated the petitioner to the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal in view of alternative and efficacious remedy available to the applicant. Thereafter, the present application No.2046/2017 comes to be filed with a prayer to direct the respondents to regularize the services of the applicant rendered from 10.09.1987 to 15.06.2013 with all consequential benefits and direct the respondents to extend the services benefits under the provisions of the Karnataka Daily Wage Employees Welfare Act, 2012 along with an interlocutory application seeking for condonation of delay in approaching the Tribunal. Before the