Daily wagers entitled to notional work charge status after 8 years continuous service despite no departmental establishment; pre-cut-off engagement allows deemed superannuation at 60 years with revised retiral benefits, no past arrears.

JUDGMENT :
Ranjan Sharma, Judge

Since common question is involved and prayer(s) are identical, therefore, with the consent of parties, both these cases are taken up for adjudication and disposal together at this stage, in the interests of justice and case of Dhian Singh is treated as lead case.

2. Petitioners, Dhian Singh and Kushla, initially filed Original Application No.6686 of 2016 before State Administrative Tribunal and after abolition of the Tribunal, the matter stood transferred to this Court as CWPOA No.724 of 2020, wherein, the petitioners have sought the following reliefs:-

“7(i) That the respondents be directed to grant regularization of the service to the applicant after completion of 8 years of service i.e. w.e.f. 01-05-1999 or 31-03-2000 with all consequential benefits including seniority, continuity, annual increments, earned leave and all other consequential benefits including arrears accruing thereon on this account.

7(ii) That the respondents be directed to retire the applicants after completing 60 years of service i.e. w.e.f. 31-10-2019 and 30-06-2022 instead of 31-10-2017 and 30-06-2020 and the applicant be paid all consequential benefits;

7(iii) That the respondents may further be restrained from retiring the applicant prematurely and allow the applicants to work till attaining the age of 60 years as per Annexure A-6 & A-7.

7(iv) That the respondent may be directed to grant work-charge status to the applicants after 8 years of service i.e. w.e.f. 01-05-1999 with all consequential benefits including seniority, continuity, annual increments, earned leave and all other consequential benefits including arrears accruing thereon on this account.”

FACTUAL MATRIX:

3. First grievance of petitioners, Dhian Chand and Kushla is that they were engaged as Beldar in the Office of Forest Range Officer, in Pangi Forest Division at Killar in District Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, which is a tribal area in 1991 and petitioners have rendered 8 years of continuous daily wage service with 160 days in each calendar year [prescribed for tribal areas] and based on continuous service, petitioners were regularized as Forest Worker on 15.03.2008 [in case of both the petitioners] w.e.f. 11.10.2007 [Annexure A-1 and Annexure A-2]. Despite having been regularized, the claim of petitioners is for work charge status from the date they complete 8 years of continuous daily wage service. Petitioner No.1 has placed on record Mandays Chart [Annexure A-3], which shows that he was engaged on daily wage service in 1995 and after completing required Mandays of 160 days in tribal areas, petitioner No.1 completed 8 years of continuous daily wage service as on 31.12.2002 and became eligible for conferment of work charge status from the date he completes 8 years of continuous daily wage service. So far as petitioner No.2-Kushla, she was engaged on daily wage service 1994 and as per Mandays Chart [Annexure A-4], she completed 8 years of continuous service on 31.12.2001 and became eligible for grant of work charge status from 01.01.2002. For asserting the claim for conferment of work charge status, petitioners have placed reliance on the judgment in the case of Rakesh Kumar Versus State of Himachal Pradesh and others alongwith connected matters [CWP No.2735 of 2010] [Annexure A-5] and judgment in the case of The State of Himachal Pradesh & others Versus Kartar Singh [LPA No.212 of 2015 [Annexure A-11] by asserting the claim on the basis of policy dated 06.05.2000 [Annexure A-12]. In this background, petitioners have claimed the grant of work charge status from the date they complete 8 years of continuous daily wage service of 160 days [as is prescribed in tribal areas] with all consequ