Daily rated workers with prima facie proof of long service entitled to regularisation; employer cannot deny due to own record lapses.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP No.2364/2018 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.6491/2021 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

2. The present matter was filed before the Hon’ble High Court seeking following relief: -

a) Mandamus directing the respondents to regularize the petitioner in terms of SRO 64 of 1994 read with Govt. Order No. 1285-GAD of 2001 dt: 06-11-01 and SRO 520 dt: 21-12-17 to treat him in service, b) Further direct the respondents to produce the entire record of the petitioner's engagement in River Valley Project, Thein Dam, Basohli District, Kahtua DD(I) so as to elicit the exact situation and reach a just conclusion, c) Further the respondents be directed release the arrears of his emoluments which have not been paid to him from 2012-15 despite the admitted fact that the petitioner had been working with them on a regular basis over a period of time, d) Any other relief may also be granted to the petitioner to which he is found entitled to during the proceedings of the case along with costs of litigation.

3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -

a) The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 2364/2018, which was initially instituted before the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and, upon reorganisation, stood transferred to this Tribunal and registered as T.A. No. 6491/2021. The applicant seeks regularisation of his services and release of withheld wages, claiming long and continuous engagement as a daily rated worker under the Forest Department.

b) The applicant asserts that he is a permanent resident of District Kathua and belongs to a far-flung rural area. According to him, he was engaged in the year 2001 by the then Divisional Forest Officer for maintenance and allied works relating to the River Valley Project (Thein Dam), Basohli, District Kathua (DD-I). It is pleaded that since his initial engagement, he continued to discharge duties uninterruptedly and to the satisfaction of the department, performing manual and project-related work assigned to him from time to time.

c) It is further averred that the applicant was paid wages intermittently by respondent No. 4 and that his engagement was acknowledged by the departmental authorities themselves. Reliance is placed upon an order dated 28.04.2003 passed by the respondent department during a camp held by the Divisional Forest Officer, Basohli, wherein it was recorded that due to paucity of funds, wages of daily rated workers could not be cleared immediately, but they were permitted to continue on their assignments till such clearance. According to the applicant, this document itself establishes not only his engagement but also the department’s admission of the existence of daily rated workers, including him, on the rolls of the project.

d) The applicant further states that he was repeatedly assured by the officials that his case would be processed for regularisation in due course, particularly as similarly situated workers had been conferred such benefit under the prevailing policy. In support of his claim of continued engagement, the applicant relies upon a certificate dated 03.05.2013 issued by respondent No. 4 certifying that he had been working regularly from 08.03.2011 to 03.05.2013. He also refers to a communication dated 07.05.2013 by the then MLA, Basohli, endorsing the fact that the applicant had been working under the Forest Department.

e) It is pleaded that despite having worke