Daily wagers entitled to condonation of fictional breaks for 240 days continuous service; work charge status after 8 years irrespective of establishment abolition; discriminatory denial quashed, granted notionally without arrears.

Petitioner, Sher Singh and others, who are fourteen in numbers have initially filed OA No.747 of 2019, which upon abolition of State Administrative Tribunal stands transferred to this Court as CWPOA No.6425 of 2020, seeking the following reliefs:-

“(a) That the respondents may kindly be directed to regularize the period of fictional breaks given to the applicants in their daily waged services for the purpose of completion of 240 days in each calendar year in view of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh in CWP No.711/2010 and other tagged matters of the applicants decided on 19.06.2010.

(b) That after regularization of the fictional breaks in daily waged services, the Applicants may kindly be held entitled for grant of work charge status/regularization of their service in terms of the law laid down in the judgments at Annexure A-2, A-3 and A-4 w.e.f. due date, with all consequential benefits.

(c) That the daily wage services of the applicant may kindly be counted towards pension.”

FACTUAL MATRIX:

2. Grievance of the petitioners is that they were initially engaged as daily wage Beldar [Class-IV] in Irrigation and Public Health Department, Sub-Division Dada Siba, Division Dehra, District Kangra [HP], during the years 1996-1998 and Respondent-Department gave them fictional breaks for a few days in each calendar year(s) during the years 1996, 1997 and 1998, so as to deprive them of the admissible benefit on completion of 240 days of continuous service in above calendar years.

2(i). It was asserted that the issue regarding condoning the fictional breaks or shortfall period after counting the said period towards 240 days of continuous service was granted by this Court in Ram Singh versus State of Himachal Pradesh [CWP No.4367 of 2009, decided on 04.06.2010], and based on the aforesaid judgment in case of Ram Singh [supra], this Court decided the writ petition(s), titled as Ramesh Lal Versus State of HP & Ors [CWP No.711 of 2010 and others] and other connected writ petitions filed by the present petitioners herein by a common judgment on 19.06.2010, by directing to consider the claim of the petitioners herein, on the analogy of the judgment in the case of Ram Singh [supra] and in case the petitioners are similarly situated then to give similar treatment to the petitioners. It is averred after condoning the shortfall- break period the benefit of work charge status from the date of completion of 8 years of continuous service may be granted in the light of the judgment in CWP No. 2735 of 2010, titled as Rakesh Kumar Versus State of H.P. & ors. along with connected matters, decided on 28.07.2010 [Annexure A-2], and the judgment, in CWP No.3111 of 2016, State of HP and Ors. Versus Ashwani Kumar , decided on 10.05.2018 [Annexure A-3], entitling the daily wagers for work charge status on completion of 8 years daily wage service, for the reason, that there is neither any requirement of work charge establishment nor availability of a post for conferring such status.

In the above backdrop, the petitioners have prayed that fictional breaks of a few days during the year 1998 may kindly be condoned and thereafter the continuous service of 240 days may be counted for seniority as well as for conferment of work charge status from the date of completion of 8 years continuous service with higher pay fixation and other attendant service benefits.

STAND OF STATE AUTHORITIES-RESPONDENTS:

3. Upon issuance of notice, the respondents filed Reply-Affidavit dated 05.01.2022 of Superintending Engineer, Jal Shakti Circle, Dharamshala.

3(i). Perusal of Reply-Affidavit indicates that pursuant to passing of judgment dated 19.06.2010, in case of Ramesh Lal Versus