Point of Law : Tribunal has failed to appreciate provisions of the scheme and has also ignored the fact that the scheme of 1989 is not an ongoing one but was introduced as a one-time measure.

JUDGMENT :

R.M. Chhaya, J.

By this petition under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have challenged the legality and validity of the judgment dated 29.09.2015 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’), Guwahati Bench, in Original Application No. 261/2013.

2. The following facts can be culled out from the record of the petition :

(i) That the petitioners are a former part of the Department of Tele Communications, Government of India. The petitioner no. 1, namely, Bharat Sanchal Nigam Limited (BSNL), is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 since 15.09.2000 and is a State under Article 12 of the Constitution of India. The basic facts arising in this petition relates back to the proceedings of WP(C) 302/1986 and WP(C) 273/1986, filed before the Hon’ble Apex Court by ‘Bharatia Dak Tar Mazdoor Manch’ for the cause of Daily Rated Casual Labourers employed under the Posts & Telegraph Department existing then. Vide a Circular dated 30.03.1985, issued by the Director General, Posts & Telegraphs, there was already a ban on fresh employment of casual labourers by Telecom Circles/Districts, which came into effect from 30.03.1985. The Hon’ble Apex Court by judgment dated 27.10.1987, reported in Daily Rated Casual Labour Employed Under P & T Department vs. Union of India and Others, reported in (1988) 1 SCC 122, directed the Union of India and others, who were party to the said petitions, to prepare a scheme on a rational basis for absorbing as far as possible the casual labourers who had been continuously working for more than one year in the Posts and Telegraph Department. Thus, a direction was issued for regularization of only such casual labourers who had been continuously working for more than one year on the date of the judgment and order of the Apex Court. As per the directions issued by the Hon’ble Apex Court, the Union of India and the Posts and Telegraph Department formulated a scheme for the same. The said scheme was named as the “Casual Labourers (Grant of Temporary Status and Regularization) Scheme of Department of Telecommunications, 1989” (hereinafter referred to as “1989 Scheme”), which was introduced vide a Circular No. 269-10/89-STN dated 07.11.1989. The said scheme was prepared to cover only those class of casual labourers who were already classified by laying down conditions to be read with the provisions of the scheme and Circular dated 30.03.1985. The Circular dated 07.11.1989 also provided that the scheme was a one-time scheme. The said scheme inter alia further provided that fresh recruitment and employment of casual labourer for any type of work in Telecom Circles/Districts should be stopped after 30.03.1985 and normally no casual labourer engaged after 30.03.1985 would be available for consideration for conferring temporary status. It also provided that in the unlikely event of there being any cases of casual labourers engaged after 30.03.1985 requiring consideration for conferment of temporary status, the same should be referred to the Telecom Commission with relevant particulars regarding the action taken against the officers under whose authorization the irregular engagement/non-retrenchment was resorted to. Thus, the scheme normally provided that no casual labourer who has been recruited after 30.03.1985 should be granted temporary status without specific approval from the office of the Telecom Commission. The said scheme came into force from 01.10.1989 onwards and the same was made applicable to the casual labourers employed by the Department of Telecommunications. The said scheme also provided various provisions relating to temporary status, entitlement, termination of service etc.

(ii) The record indicates that the Ministry of Telecommunications, vide a letter No. 269-4/93-STN dated 25.06.1993, issued a furt