No duty to provide alternative employment.

ORDER.-All these writ petitions can be dealt with under a common judgment. The common issue involved can be determined by referring to the facts of Writ Petition No. 4011 of 1977 alone. The facts are identical in all these cases.

2. The petitioners were engaged as casual labour/Khalasis on projects on daily wages. They were required to work in Railway Yards to execute construction work, laying of cables along the track, erection; of signal poles, dressing up of permanent way points, works relating to installation of point machine, and signals and various other sophisticated materials, providing new signalling arrangements, etc. Under the rules, to be fit for appointment, each candidate must be in good mental and bodily health and free from any defect likely to interfere with the efficient performance of the duties of his appointment, Medical examination for fitness for employment will include-

(i) General physical examination;

(ii) Vision tests.

Vision tests are carried out according to paragraph 1018 Rule (it) of the Railway Establishment Manual. For the purpose of vision tests all candidates for appointment will be allocated by group and class, to the appropriate category. The petitioners were engaged in works which fall under category B-1. The petitioners were required to under go medical examination to test their fitness for the works for which they were engaged. In the medical examinaiton it was certified that the petitioners were unfit for service in class B-l and hence could not be continued in the works for which they were engaged. Hence by order dated 1st October, 1977 the petitioners were given notice that their services would not be required any longer beyond 31st October, 1977. The petitioners have filed the above writ petitions seeking to quash the said order, on the following among other grounds.

3. The petitioner in W.P. No. 4011 of 1977 had put in continuous service from the year 1970. He had put in continuous service within the meaning of section 25-B of the Industrial Disputes Act for the purpose of Chapter V-A of the Act. The present termination under the impugned order amounts to retrenchment within the meaning of section 2 (oo) of the Industrial Disputes Act as the termination in the instant case is not by way of punishment and it is not a voluntary retirement or the retirement on reaching superannuation or termination on the ground of continued ill-health. It is a retrenchment as laid down by the Supreme Court in State Bank of India v. Sundaramoney1and again reiterated by the Supreme Court in a subsequent judgment reported in Hindustan Steel Ltd. v. State of Orissa2 .

4. The impugned order retrenches the petitioner without complying with the requirement of section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act and therefore is bad and liable to be quashed.

5. Although the petitioner is called a casual labourer the definition in rule 2501 (a) of the Manual does not apply to him and therefore he is not a casual labourer. Even otherwise having completed continuous service of more than six months, the petitioner had attained temporary status within the meaning of rule 2501 (b) (i) of the Manual.

6. Chapter XXVI of the Manual specifically provides for absorption of medically incapacitated staff in the alternative employment. No attempt has ever been made to absorb the petitioner in any other category, even assuming without admitting that he is not fit for B-1 category. In the counter affidavit of the respondents it is stated:

“The dates of engagement of the petitioners as casual labour/Khalasis, nature of work lor which they were engaged and the standard of......................medical classification required, the dates when they were medically examined and other details are given in Annexure-I. The minimum standard of medical fitness required for the petitioners is B-l classification and on medical examination it was certified that they were unfit in Class B-l” Hence by the impugned notice the petitioners were informed that thei

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