The legitimate expectation of regularisation for long-standing work charge employees and the interpretation of the term 'Government Servant' in Rule 2(a) were central to the court's decision.

( 1 ) COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT and rejoinder-affidavit have been exchanged.

( 2 ) WITH the consent of the parties, the Writ Petition is being disposed of finally.

( 3 ) THE petitioner Santosh Kumar Misra applied for being appointed in the Department of irrigation, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow on compassionate ground as his father sheetla Prasad while in service in the said department died in-harness on 1. 4. 1999. The petitioners father Sheetla Prasad was engaged as a daily wager on a muster roll with effect from 15. 6. 1986 and was allotted the work of Chowkidar. He continuously worked as Chowkidar as a muster roll employee and later on in pursuance of the scheme as enumerated in the case of Raj narain Prasad and Ors. v. State of U. P. and Ors. , (1998) 8 SCC 473, his services were converted into that of a work charge employee on 13. 8. 1997. Sheetla Prasad (since deceased) continued to work upto 31. 3. 1999.

( 4 ) THUS, it is the admitted case of both the parties that the petitioners father was earlier engaged on muster roll on 5. 6. 1986 and later on he was appointed on work charge establishment on 13. 8. 1997 and that the remained in continuous employment right from 15. 6. 1996 upto the date of his death i. e. though earlier as a muster roll employee and later on as a workcharge employee. The petitioner on the death of his father applied for being given appointment taking shelter of dying in Harness Rules, 1974 on 22. 4. 1999, but the petitioner has not been favoured with any appointment. Being aggrieved, the present petition has been filed.

( 5 ) A counter-affidavit has been filed by the State in which it has been stated that since the petitioners father was not a regular employee, the provisions of Dying in Harness Rules would not be attracted in the case of the petitioner. It has further been stated that there is no rule which provides that the appointment in Dying in Harness Rules can be given to any dependent whose father was not a regular employee. Since the petitioners father was earlier engaged on muster roll and thereafter he worked as workcharge employee in the workcharge establishment, therefore, the petitioner is not entitled for appointment under the aforesaid rules.

( 6 ) THE petitioner has given a specific case of one Gajraj who died in harness after completing 10 years of service on muster roll and his son Beche Lal was given appointment on compassionate grounds in para 9 of the writ petition. The petitioner has asserted that in case benefit of appointment on compassionate grounds can be given under the Dying in Harness Rules to the son of Gajraj who was working only as a muster roll employee then the said benefit should be given to the petitioner also. In reply to the said averment in the writ petition the State has stated in the counter-affidavit in para 7 that although there are no orders of the Government to engage the dependents of the daily wagers but in view of the letter of the Engineer-in-Chief, appointment has been given to son of Gajraj on humanitarian grounds. The averment made in this paragraph of the counter-affidavit indicated that some directions were issued by the engineer-in-Chief that the dependents of the daily wagers cannot be appointed but the appointment can be made on humanitarian grounds.

( 7 ) LEARNED Counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance upon the case of Raj Narain Prasad (supra), for stressing his submission that the petitioners father would be deemed to have been a regular Government servant in view of the fact that his appointment has been converted into workcharge employee in pursuance of the scheme approved by the Apex Court. He further submitted that in view of the decision rendered in the case of Smt. Pushp Lata Dixit v. Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad and Ors. , reported in 1991 (18) ALR 591, the petitioner is entitled for getting the appointment. In this case, the husband of Smt. Pushp Lata was working as a Paid apprentice. The plea that he was not a