Drivers appointed on casual basis have no right to claim regularisation.

Common Judgment: (N. Paul Vasanthakumar, J.)

All these writ appeals are filed against the common order passed by the learned single Judge dated 9. 2005.

2. W.A.No.2077 of 2005 is filed by the Indian Airlines Limited, Southern Region, Chennai, against the order passed in W.P.No.40768 of 2002 allowing the writ petition. W.A.No.2112 and 2113 of 2005 are preferred challenging the order of the learned single Judge made in W.P.Nos.7908 of 2003 and 7822 of 2003 respectively, dismissing the writ petitions filed by the respective appellants.

3. The facts leading to filing of the writ appeals are as follows.

.(a) The writ petitioners were employed as Drivers in the Indian Airlines Limited, who were subsequently disengaged. All the writ petitioners possess driving licence and they were treated as ex-casual drivers. The Indian Airlines Limited issued employment notice No.6 of 2001 on 29. 2001, wherein relaxation of age for those who have worked as casual drivers was given and there is no priority in appointment of such ex-casual drivers.

.(b) Pursuant to the said employment notice, writ petitioners applied along with several other persons and after trade test and interview, 60 persons were declared to have passed the trade test. On 14. 2002, a separate trade test was conducted for 13 applicants and 9 out of 13 were declared as passed the trade test and interview.

.(c) The case of the petitioner in W.P.No.40768 of 2002 was that separate interview was conducted on 14. 2002 only for the purpose of favouring few persons and the private respondent No.3 worked only as Loader without any working experience as driver and the 4th private respondent was junior to the writ petitioner and the casual driver has worked only for 39 days, that too after the engagement of the petitioner.

(d) Insofar as the petitioners in W.P.No.7822 and 7908 of 2003 are concerned, they were found medically unfit as their fasting blood sugar was higher than the normal limit of 70-110 mgs. So far as G.Murugan, appellant in W.A.2113 of 2003 is concerned, the fasting blood sugar level was 137 mgs and so far as L.Radhakrishnan, appellant in W.A.No.2112 of 2003 is concerned, the blood sugar was 191 mgs and both were confirmed as Diabetes by the expert. The said two persons challenged their non-selection by contending that in respect of V. Masanamuthu (respondent No.2 in W.A.Nos.2112 and 2113 of 2005) also, the blood sugar level was not within the limit and he was referred for second opinion and based on the second medical opinion, he was offered employment even though he was initially found unfit like that of the writ petitioners.

.(e) Writ petitioner in W.P.No.40768 of 2002, having not been selected, has filed the writ petition and prayed for quashing the employment notice No.6 of 2001 dated 29. 2001 with a direction to give employment to him as Driver (MT) by adhering to section 25H of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Writ petitioners in W.P.Nos.7822 and 7908 of 2003 have challenged the order dated 22. 2003 declaring them as not selected as they are medically found unfit with a direction to the first respondent to give employment to the petitioners as Drivers (MT) based on the employment notice No.6 of 2001 dated 29. 2001.

4. All the above writ petitions were opposed by the Indian Airlines Limited, by contending as follows.

.(i) Writ petitioners having taken part in the selection process pursuant to the employment notice without any protest, are estopped from challenging the employment notice and the procedure followed in the selection. The writ petitioners, as casual employees, have no right to claim any preference nor claim regularisation of their services as their original entry as casual employees itself are not in conformity with the regular selection rules.

.(ii) It is further stated that 29 vacancies of driver posts were notified by the Headquarters to be filled up in various stations in all the four southern states. Out of the said vacancies, 15 a