IMPORTANT POINT
The court directed the government to consider proposals for regularisation of daily wage workers while upholding the principle of 'no work no pay' regarding wage claims.

ORDER :

1. The grievance of petitioner in Writ Petition No. 30831 of 2010 is that respondent- Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society Limited (for short ‘the Society’) is not regularising his services, in spite of the fact that he had put in 21 years of service.

2. It is the case of petitioner that he was initially appointed as daily wage worker by the Manager of APCO Fabrics Sales Emporium, Nalgonda on 03.10.1989 and his services were utilised up to 09.12.1993 by the APCO Cloth Godown and thereafter, from 10.12.1993, he was terminated orally without notice though he completed more than 240 days and also entitled to protection under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short, ‘the Act’). Aggrieved thereby, petitioner is stated to have raised I.D. No. 231 of 1995 on the file of the Labour Court-III, Hyderabad, which, vide Award dated 11.12.1998, set aside the order of oral termination. The said Award was challenged by the respondents in Writ Petition No. 5037 of 2000 and it was dismissed on 17.09.2008. Consequently, petitioner was reinstated on daily wage basis with continuity of service. Here, petitioner brings forth before this Court the fact that his colleagues viz. K. Nageswara Rao, P. Kavitha, N. Venkata Subbaiah and M.V.S. Kusuma, who were also appointed in 1989, filed Writ Petition No. 24359 of 2000 on the ground that their juniors M. Kalavathi, G.S. Annarao were regularised. The said Writ Petition was disposed of directing the respondent to regularise the services of petitioners therein on par with their juniors. Petitioner states that he is senior to M. Kalavathi and G.V.S. Anna Rao, hence, he is also entitled for absorption along with K. Nageswara Rao and others.

3. Learned counsel for petitioner Sri J.M. Naidu submits primarily that employees who are similarly-situated cannot be discriminated and his client cannot be denied the relief on the ground that he had not obtained order from this Court.

4. This Court, in view of the averments in the counter filed on behalf of the 1st respondent and at the request of learned counsel for petitioner, adjourned the Writ Petition for impleading Secretary to Government, Industries & Commerce (Tex.) Department, Government of Telangana, by order dated 16.09.2022. Accordingly, vide order dated 26.09.2022 in I.A. No. 1 of 2022, the State of Telangana, represented by Principal Secretary was impleaded as the 2nd respondent.

5. The sum and substance of the counter-affidavits discloses that petitioner was engaged as a daily wager during 1992-93; consequent on termination on 10.12.1993, he raised I.D. No. 231 of 1995 which was disposed of on 11.12.1998 with a direction to respondent to take him as daily wage worker with continuity of service with other benefits, but without back wages under principle ‘no work no pay’. Aggrieved thereby, the Society filed Writ Petition No. 5037 of 2000, wherein this Court granted stay on condition of complying with 17-B of ID Act. Pursuant to the said order, petitioner was paid daily wage amount of Rs.24,295/- for the period from 11.12.1989 to 30.09.1991 at Rs.28.65 ps. excluding holidays and he was also paid last drawn wages without engaging him till Writ Petition was dismissed on 17.09.2008. In compliance with the orders in Writ Petition No. 5037 of 2000, the Divisional Marketing Officer, Secunderabad was directed vide memo dated 20.06.2009 and accordingly, petitioner joined on 24.06.2009. In addition, petitioner had taken out M.P. No. 5 of 2012 in I.D. No. 231 of 1995 to pay difference of wages for the period from 01.10.1998 to 24.06.2009. This respondent denied the contention of petitioner that services of his colleagues who were junior to him were regularised in terms of the order dated 11.08.2010 in Writ Petition No. 24359 of 2000, since vide memo dated 21.04.2011, they were informed that they were not eligible for regularisation of services in terms of G.O.Ms. No. 212, Finance & Planning (F.W.PC-III) Department, dated 22.04.1994 since