The State cannot deny regularization to a long-serving ad-hoc or consolidated employee under the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Special Provisions) Act, 2010, merely on technical grounds such as the absence of a sanctioned post, particularly when identical treatment has been granted to similarly situated employees.

ORDER

Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member

1. The SWP / WPC/589/2017 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.6988/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

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

a) Quash impugned Order No. 35-SMD of 2016 dated 27.04.2016 issued by respondent no. 2.

b) Direct the official respondents to regularize the petitioner in Class-IV as has been done in case of similarly situated watch and ward Chowkidars in Social Welfare department namely Ashwani Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, and Dhanter Singh.

c) Regularize the petitioner retrospectively w.e.f the completion of 7 years with all consequential and monetary benefits etc.

d) Any other order/orders, which this Hon'ble Court may deems fit and appropriate in the facts and circumstances of the case may also very kindly be passed in favour of the petitioner.”

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

a) The applicant is a permanent resident of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and a citizen of India, claiming entitlement to protection of his legal, statutory, and constitutional rights under the Constitution of India and the laws governing service conditions in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

b) The applicant was initially engaged by the Social Welfare Department as a Watch and Ward Chowkidar on a consolidated honorarium of ₹800 per month vide order dated 08.07.2002 issued by the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), Kathua, for a period of 60 days in the first instance. Subsequently, his engagement was continued on consolidated basis vide order dated 24.09.2002. Since then, the applicant has continued to render uninterrupted service in the same capacity, and his consolidated remuneration has gradually increased, though he continues to remain outside the regular establishment of the department.

c) It is the specific case of the applicant that he has continuously worked for more than fourteen years without any break, discharging duties identical in nature to those performed by regular Class-IV employees, and that his services have been utilized by the department on a sustained and regular basis. According to the applicant, there existed vacant posts of Class- IV (Orderly) in the office of CDPO, Kathua, against which he possessed the requisite eligibility and experience for regularization.

d) After rendering more than nine years of continuous service, the applicant submitted a formal representation on 02.01.2011 seeking regularization as a Class-IV employee against the available vacancies. As no response was received, the applicant again approached the departmental authorities, whereupon his claim was forwarded by the competent authority on 25.08.2011 to the State Mission Director, ICDS, recommending consideration of his case in view of his long and unblemished service.

e) Despite repeated representations, no decision was taken, compelling the applicant to invoke the writ jurisdiction of the Hon’ble High Court by filing SWP No. 671/2014. The said writ petition was disposed of vide judgment dated 01.12.2015, whereby the Hon’ble High Court directed the respondents to consider the case of the applicant for regularization strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Special Provisions) Act, 2010, and to pass appropriate orders within a stipulated period.

f) It is asserted that instead of granting meanin