Work-charge employees who have completed 5 years of continuous satisfactory service are entitled to retirement benefits and other facilities of permanent Government servants, as per the Government Resolution dated 22.10.84.

Mishra, J.

In this writ application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India the petitioner has prayed for a direction to the respondent to pay all the retirement-cum-death benefit legally payable to the deceased employee who died in harness on 6.1.1980 after completing 6 years of service as work-charge employee. The petitioner is the son of the deceased employee who was initially appointed on 14.4.73 as Choukidar-cum-Nightguard in the work-charge establishment. Further prayer of the petitioner in this case is for payment of difference of salary w.e.f. 1.1.71 as also the salary for the month of February, 1990, which are due to the petitioner. It is submitted that the salary was revised w.e.f. 1.1.71 and the said revised salary is payable to the petitioner from the aforesaid date. Further prayer has been made for a direction to the respondents to appoint the petitioner on compassionate ground as the father of the petitioner died in harness.

2. Shortly stated the case of the petitioner is that father of the petitioner was initially appointed in 14.4.73 and was posted as Choukidar-cum-Nightguard in the Tube Well Division, Barh. He died while he was in service on 8.1.80. After death of the father, the petitioner being a son of the deceased employee, has approached the Executive Engineer, Tube Well Division, Barh, for payment of the entire retiral-cum-death benefits. The Executive Engineer, accordingly, issued sanction order for withdrawal of the provident fund amount, as it appears from the order dated 18.3.80 copy of which is made Annexure-1 to this writ application. The Executive Engineer, thereafter, has sent a letter to the Superintending Engineer requesting him for allotment of fund so that the legal dues of the petitioner will be paid to him. The Superintending Engineer, accordingly, requested the Financial Adviser-cum-Chief Account Officer, Water Development Corporation, Patna (hereinafter referred to as the 'Corporation'), for allotment of fund so that the payment could be made to the petitioner, as it appears from the letter dated 9.5.81, copy of which is made Annexure 2 to this writ application. Thereafter w.e.f. 1.3.74 the Tube Well Division of Minor Irrigation was merged in Bihar Water Development Corporation and, accordingly, the service of the petitioner's father were transferred to the said Corporation where the pay scale was revised w.e.f. 1.4.71 on the basis of the 3rd Pay Revision Committee Report, which was accepted by the Government. In view of the Circular issued by the State respondents the petitioner, being a non-matric, has applied for appointment on class IV on compassionate ground which was recommended by that Executive Engineer and forwarded to the respondent Superintending Engineer and the Superintending Engineer, in turn, has referred the matter to the Chief Engineer praying therein for taking a final decision in the matter. The respondent Chief-Engineer on receipt of the recommendation for appointment of the petitioner on compassionate ground has referred the matter to the Administrator-in-Chief of the Corporation with a request to the Administrator-in-Chief for according necessary sanction. Thereafter, the Board of Directors of the Corporation has finally appointed the petitioner along with the similarly situated persons as daily rated employee for the time being till the final decision is taken in this regard, copy of such decision made by the Board of Directors is made Annexure-5 to this writ application. The Administrator-in-Chief has finally decided to appoint the petitioner on compassionate ground, which will be apparent from Annexure-6 to this writ application. The petitioner, thereafter, approached the authorities concerned repeatedly but In spite of the recommendations having been made by the competent authority, neither he has been appointed on compassionate ground nor the legal dues payable to his deceased father has been paid to him till date. Hence this writ applicati