Important Point – Claim for conversion to Temporary Establishment from Work Charge Establishment has to be considered in light of Government Resolution.

J.B. PARDIWALA, J.

1. By this writ application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners Nos. 1 to 36 serving as Junior Scientific Assistants and the petitioners Nos. 37 to 52 serving as Senior Scientific Assistants have prayed for the following reliefs:-

19(a) Be pleased to allow this petition.

(b) Be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, quashing and setting aside the order passed by respondent No. 1 dated 8.7.2011 whereby the representation made by the petitioners raising their grievance with regard to not granting them status of Temporary Establishment w.e.f. 16.11.1996 as well as not extending the benefit of higher pay scale has been rejected and be pleased to hold that the petitioners had become entitled for conversion to Temporary Establishment from Work Charge Establishment w.e.f. 16.11.1996 i.e. the date on which other similarly situated 42 Junior Scientific Assistants and Senior Scientific Assistants have been granted status of Temporary Establishment and even considering the provisions of Government Resolution dated 16.8.1973 and considering the recommendations made by the respondent No. 3 in this regard.

(c) Be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to reconsider the case of the petitioners for granting them status of Temporary Establishment w.e.f. 16.11.1996 as well as all consequential benefits flowing therefrom and to consider their case for granting the benefit of higher pay scale by treating them on Temporary Establishment w.e.f. 16.11.1996 in the aforesaid peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.

(d) Pending admission and till final disposal of the petition, be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the concerned respondent authorities to reconsider the case of the petitioners for granting them status of Temporary Establishment w.e.f. 16.11.1996 as well as all consequential benefits flowing therefrom and to consider their case for granting the benefit of higher pay scale by treating them on Temporary Establishment w.e.f. 16.11.1996 till the aforesaid petition is finally heard and decided.

(e) Pass such orders as thought fit in the interest of justice.

2. The case of the petitioners may be summarized as under:

3. The petitioners came to be appointed as Junior Scientific Assistants and Senior Scientific Assistants by the State Government in the Gujarat Engineering Research Institute (for short, G.E.R.I.). It is their case that they were appointed by way of a regular recruitment process prescribed under the relevant rules and regulations adopted by the respondents authorities. At the time of their appointments, they possessed the necessary qualifications and had fulfilled the eligibility criteria prescribed under the rules.

4. The details of the date of appointment, their designation, educational qualifications, etc. are to be found at page No. 34 of the paper-book at Annexure: A'. Some of the appointment orders are annexed at Annexure: ‘C and those appointment orders indicate that the names of some of the petitioners were sent through the Employment Exchange, and after subjecting them to the recruitment procedure, they were appointed as work charged i.e. in the work charged establishment.

5. The petitioners have placed strong reliance on the Government Resolution dated 16th August, 1973, more particularly, Clause 2, which provides that permanent status should be conferred upon the work charged employee on completion of minimum five years of service in the work charged establishment.

6. It is their case that on the strength of the Government Resolution dated 16th August, 1973, many other similarly situated work charged employees were conferred the status of temporary/permanent employees vide office order dated 7th October, 1996. The work assistant employees working in the Kutch Irrigation Circle under the Executive Engineer were also given the temporary status/permanent status on t