Dependent of medically incapacitated daily-wager entitled to daily-wage compassionate appointment only per policy Clause 2(b); no retrospective regularization, post-change after acceptance, or parity with regular employee's dependent; barred by delay and non-challenge.

JUDGMENT :

RANJAN SHARMA, J.

1. Petitioner, Chamel Singh, a compassionate appointee, had initially filed CWP No.4214 of 2011 before this Court and on establishment of H.P. State Administrative Tribunal, the matter was transferred to the said Tribunal; and now upon abolition, the matter stood transferred to this Court, as CWPOA No.748 of 2019, seeking the following reliefs:

“13 (a) To issue the writ of certiorari or direction in nature thereof directing the respondents to consider the regularization of the services of the petitioner in a regular pay scale from the date he joined the respondent department w.e.f. 1.11.1994 like respondent No.5 and further to give seniority and consequential service benefits to the petitioner from the date of his joining i.e. 1.11.1994.

13 (b) To issue writ of certiorari or direction in nature thereof directing the respondents to release the arrear of pay as regular employees to the petitioner w.e.f. 1.11.1994 as has already been given to the respondent No.5 i.e. Shri Balbir Singh.”

FACTUAL MATRIX:

2. Grievance of the petitioner is that his father [Mehru] joined as a Beldar on daily wage basis in 1984 and as per Mandays he rendered continuous service from 1986 to 1993 and in the year 1994, he worked for 169 days he fell and was declared medically unfit. Due to medical incapacitation of his father, in September 1994, the Superintending Engineer, 12th Circle, HPPWD, Nahan, appointed-deployed the present petitioner [Chamel Singh] as daily wage Beldar on compassionate grounds on 21.10.1994 [Annexure P-1]. Later, the father of petitioner died on 01.08.1999. The present petitioner [Chamel Singh] continued as a Beldar on daily wages since October 1994 and he was regularized as Beldar on 09.01.2007 with immediate effect in pay scale of Rs2620-100-3220-110-3060-120-4140 [Annexure P-3].

It is averred that upon death of Shri Dontu, his son, Balbir Singh-Respondent No.5, was appointed as Beldar on compassionate grounds, on regular basis. With these averments the petitioner [Chamel Singh] has claimed that he should be appointed on regular basis from the date he was initially appointed as Beldar on daily wage basis on 21.10.1994 and the discrimination be remedied vis-à-vis Respondent No 5- Balbir Singh who was appointed on regular basis, with all consequential benefits.

STAND OF RESPONDENTS NO.1 TO 4-STATE AUTHORITIES:

3. Pursuant to the issuance of notice by this Court on 23.06.2011, Respondents No.1 to 4 filed a Reply-Affidavit dated 24.05.2012, of Superintending Engineer, 12th Circle, HPPWD, Nahan:

(i). Paras-2 to 5 of Preliminary Submissions of Reply-Affidavit admits that as per Mandays Chart [Annexure R-2] the petitioner’s father, namely, Mehru, joined the Respondent-Department in August, 1984 as daily wage Beldar and rendered 240 days in each year till 1993 but in 1994 he fell ill and completed only 164 days. In September 1994, while working as a daily wager, he was declared medically unfit. Reply-Affidavit further indicates that the petitioner’s father [Mehru] could not be regularized for want of 10 years of continuous services with 240 days in each calendar year as required in terms of Policy prevalent at relevant time.

(ii). Reply-Affidavit further indicates that State Authorities have issued a Policy for Compassionate Appointment dated 18.01.1990, which provides that in case a Government Servant dies or is declared medically incapacitated, while being a daily wager having rendered at least 5 years of daily wage continuous service, then, in such an eventuality the employment would be given daily wage only. It is further averred that in terms of the Compassionate Policy dated 18.01.1990, the present petitioner, namely, Chamel Singh, was appointed as Beldar as daily wages on 21.10.1994 [Annexure P-1]. Reply-Affidavit states that on the other hand, one Shri Dontu was employed on daily wage basis as Beldar in 1985 and after rendering 10 years of continuous daily wage service, aforesaid Shri Dontu was regularized on