The principle of parity and non-discrimination in the absorption of employees into Government service.

A perusal of the materials placed before this Court would indicate that the National Leprosy Eradication Programme came to be introduced in India from 1955 and to eradicate the disease of leprosy, the Government of India has prescribed certain guidelines to sanction SET Grant (Survey Education and Treatment) to private voluntary organisations and one of the guidelines is that the private leprosy voluntary organisation should first apply to the Government of tamil Nadu for allocation of areas to do the leprosy control work and the voluntary leprosy organisations were identified and were carrying out leprosy control work as per the above said programme. The agencies were running the leprosy work from their own funds and foreign aid and as well as grant from the Government of India and they were also submitting periodical reports to the District Leprosy Officers of the concerned district who consolidated the reports and submitted to the concerned authorities.

2.The Government of Tamil Nadu had also considered the issue of integration of leprosy services in Public Health Department and in this regard, has constituted a committee to look into the various aspects on integration and submit a report and accordingly, a report was submitted to the Government and the Government after examination of the report has accepted its recommendations and issued G.O.Ms.No.320, Health and Family Welfare Department, dated 27.06.1997 integrating leprosy services with the public health service in the department of public health and preventive medicine with effect from 01.08.1997.

3.It is also known that the personnel working in the leprosy voluntary organisations were absorbed namely, Belgium Leprosy Centre, Polambakkam, S.M.Hospital Leprosy Relief Control Scheme, Wallajah Taluk, Damien Foundation and Dharmapuri, Christian Mission Hospital, Madharbakkam were absorbed vide G.O.Ms.No.1310, Health Department dated 28.05.1962, G.O.Ms.No.1210, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 26.08.1975, G.O.Ms.No.436, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 06.03.1986 and G.O.Ms.No.185, Health Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy and Family Welfare Department dated 03.02.1990 respectively. In terms of G.O.Ms.No.347, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 29.09.2000, 99 MDT staff who are working in the national leprosy eradication programme were absorbed into Government service in suitable post according to their educational and technical qualification.

4.The petitioner aggrieved by the fact that, though some of their members have been permanently absorbed in the Government service, some amongst them did not get the said benefits, filed O.A.No.3884 of 2001 before the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal and on abolition of the Tribunal, it was transferred to the file of this Court and numbered as W.P.No.5160 of 2007. The said writ petition was finally disposed of along with W.P.No.49556 of 2006 on 02.02.2011 by directing the first respondent to consider the representation submitted by the petitioner in the light of G.O.Ms.No.268, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 20.09.2010.

5.The petitioner association alleging non compliance of the above said order also initiated contempt proceedings and in the interregnum, the impugned order dated 29.07.2013 came to be passed, wherein, the request made by the petitioner association came to be rejected on the ground that the proposal of absorption involve additional expenditure to the Government and absorption of non-Government staff into Government service is also policy decision of the Government and challenging the legality of the said order, the present writ petition is filed.

6.Mr.G.Ethirajulu, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that infact some of the members of the petitioner association were absorbed and they were appointed as Health Inspector Grade II in terms of G.O.Ms.No.268, Health and Family Welfare Department dated 20.09.2010 and by applying the principle of parity, the o