Daily wage employees who are appointed against sanctioned posts and perform the same duties as regular employees are entitled to regularisation of their services and equal pay with regular employees.

U. P. Singh, J.

1. In this writ application, Class III and IV employees, all employed to work on daily wages at various rates, increased from time to time, have come up before this court with a grievance that, although they have been working on different posts since 1978 to 1984, their services have not been regularised and they are not being paid the same emoluments at the rates and scale of pay prescribed for employees of the respective cadres, although the petitioners are discharging the same nature of work under the agency, called "gandak Command Area and Development Agency".

2. The gandak Command Area Development Agency has been established under Sec.3 if the Biharagriculturist and Rural Area development Agency Act, 1978 for the last several years. It functions with the Board, the Chairman-cum-Area Commissioner being the head and the powers of the Managing Director are vested in the Chairman. The Government vide its order No.349/c. A. D. dated the 30th September, 1975, empowered the respondent Agency to appoint employees on the posts carrying the salary upto Rs, 1600/- per month. The petitioners were, thus, appointed by appropriate authorities or the Agency as and when vacancies arose for carrying out the development works entrusted by the Agency. The P. W D. Code and other service regulations prevailing in the Government of Bihar, have been adopted by tae Agency for its working as well. Since the State government had put some restrictioas against regular appointment even against sanctioned posts, the petitioners were appointed as daily rated workmen against sanctioned posts and have thus, continued for long s years in the service of the Agency. It has been submitted on their behalf that most of them have now become overage for any direct appointment. It has also been submitted that, although they were appointed as daily rated workmen, but the work, which was being taken from them, is that of regular employees and they are not being paid the prescribed scale of salary whicn is sanctioned for such regular employees.

3. Petitioners 1 to 10 are clerks and petitioners 11 to 19 are drivers, all belonging to Class III cadre, and petitioners 2u to 4s are peons in Class iv posts. At the time of their appointment their eligibility suitability and fitness were all tested along with other candidate in pursuance of the local advertisement on the Notice Board, Thereafter, the petitioners were selected to work on daily wage basis. They made representation for regularisation of their services. The Assistant Labour Muzaffarpur, in his communication to the District Secretary of the P. W. D Workers Union stated that their demand for regularisation would be considered. Tae said letter No.5149 dated 31st July, 1985 has been annexed marked Annexure -8. in August,1985, the chairman cum-Development Commissioner of tae Agency also entered into an agreement with the President of the Employees Association to the effect that the employees working on daily wage basis would be regularised on sanctioned vacant posts on completing its modalities within three months and, in pursuance of this agreement, the strike was called off". The said agreement dated the 1st August, 1986 has bsen annexed marked annexure-9. Even then, neither their services were regularised nor were they paid the same salary which was being paid to the regular employees.

4. The stand taken in the counter affidavit is that the appointment of these daily wagers was illegal and/or irregular having not been appointed by the competent authority and that it was not against any sanctioned posts. In other words, it was sudmitted that the question of regularisation did not arise since such persons were engaged on muster roll as and when the alleged necessity arose and that it was illegal, irregular and without jurisdiction. It was further submitted that the question of payment according to the rates and the scales ot pay, with effect from the dates the petitioners have been working on