Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2026 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 5008

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member, Ram Mohan Johri, Administrative Member
Mohd. Shabir – Appellant
Versus
State of Jammu and Kashmir – Respondent
Transfer Application No. 675/2020|SWP No.2615/2019|SWP No. 2129/2017

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Mr. C M Koul
For the Respondents: Mr. Rajesh Thappa Ld. AAG

No enforceable right to wages or regularization for casual workers without lawful engagement by competent authority; unauthorized subordinate communications/identity cards/biometric do not confer service status.

Headnote:(A) Service Law - Casual Labourers/Need-based Workers - Engagement by subordinate officer without competent authority - Communication, identity cards, and biometric attendance do not constitute lawful appointment or confer enforceable rights to wages or regularization - No right arises from unauthorized acts or voluntary services. (Paras 9, 10, 11, 16)

(B) Regularization - Not a mode of recruitment - Cannot be directed for persons not appointed per constitutional scheme of public employment - Equity cannot supplant law; backdoor entry into public service impermissible. (Paras 12, 13, 18, 24)

(C) Writ Jurisdiction - Cannot adjudicate disputed facts requiring oral evidence or roving enquiry - Collective claims lacking individual proof and foundational documents untenable. (Paras 14, 15, 21)

Facts of the case:
Petitioners, claiming to be casual/need-based workers in a government department's sub-division, challenged rejection order denying wages and sought regularization, relying on subordinate officer's communication, identity cards, and biometric attendance. Respondents denied any lawful engagement by competent authority, stating petitioners rendered only voluntary services without records.

Findings of Court:
No lawful engagement proved; unauthorized documents do not create service rights; regularization impermissible without legal appointment; impugned rejection order upheld.

Issues: Whether communication/identity cards/biometric attendance establish lawful employment entitling petitioners to wages/regularization; validity of rejection order; scope of writ jurisdiction over disputed facts.

Ratio Decidendi: Enforceable service rights require appointment by competent authority per rules; subordinate's unauthorized acts do not bind department; regularization barred for irregular entrants; disputed claims unfit for writ relief without foundational proof.

Result: Transfer Application dismissed.

Table of Content
1. case transfer and procedural history (Para 1 , 2)
2. petitioners' claims of employment and reliefs sought (Para 3)
3. respondents' denial of valid engagement (Para 4)
4. summary of petitioners' case and evidence (Para 6 , 7)
5. summary of respondents' counterarguments (Para 8)
6. no lawful engagement without competent authority (Para 9 , 10)
7. subordinate officer's communication not binding (Para 11)
8. regularization requires lawful initial appointment (Para 12 , 13)
9. writ jurisdiction unsuitable for disputed facts (Para 14 , 15)
10. identity cards and biometrics not constituting appointment (Para 16)
11. later corrective orders prevail over unauthorized acts (Para 17 , 18)
12. no equity or regularization without legal foundation (Para 19 , 20 , 21 , 22)
13. petition fails for lack of legal rights (Para 23 , 24)
14. transfer application dismissed (Para 25 , 26)

ORDER

Per: - Ram Mohan Johri, Administrative Member

1. The SWP No.2615/2019 was transferred from the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.675/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.

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

“IN THE PREMISES:

It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may, in the facts and circumstances of the case, be pleased to show indulgence in the matter and issue a writ, order or a direction including a writ in the nature of:-

Certiorari for quashing the Order No. 2 dated 23/06/2019 issued under the seal and signature of Executive Engineer, PHE Division Poonch and the perusal of which interalia provides that on some mistaken/incorrect conclusion that the petitioners had not worked in the department, the cases of the petitioners came to be rejected unmindful of the fact that the record/details maintained by the Department in this behalf provides that the petitioners have been working in the particularly the Department and more communication addressed by the Assistant Executive Engineer, PHE Sub- Division, Mendhar to the Chief Engineer, PHE Jammu under endorsement No. PHE/SDM/379 dated 23/10/2017, re-inforces the submission of the petitioners in this behalf.

Mandamus commanding the respondents to compute and disburse the unpaid salary to the petitioners withheld from them illegally and arbitrarily for the last around three years.

The Hon'ble Court may further direct the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioners predominantly for the reasons that:-

(i)- the petitioners have been performing their duties un- interruptedly in the department, admission in respect of which has been made by the Assistant Executive Engineer, PHE Sub- Division Mendhar to the Chief Engineer, PHE, Jammu vide communication dated 23/10/2017.

(ii)- the petitioners have already been issued the identity cards by the department and many of them have already been brought on bio-metric attendance system of the department.

The Hon'ble Court may, in the facts and circumstances of the case, be pleased to grant any other alternate/additional relief in favour of the petitioners in order to meet the ends of justice. `

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

a) The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 2615/2019 which was originally filed before the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Jammu and later transferred to this Tribunal where it came to be registered as T.A. No. 675/2020.

b) The petitioners, who are residents of different villages of Tehsil Mendhar, District Poonch, claim that they have been working for several years in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department, particularly in the PHE Sub-Division Mendhar. According to them, they have been rendering services as casual/need-based labourers and have continuously discharged duties in the department for a considerable period of time.

c) It is the case of the petitioners that despite performing duties in the department, their salaries were not

Click Here to Read the rest of this document

2026 Supreme(Online)(CAT) 5008

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALRajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member, Ram Mohan Johri, Administrative MemberMohd. Shabir – AppellantVersusState of Jammu and Kashmir – RespondentTransfer Application No. 675/2020|SWP No.2615/2019|SWP No. 2129/2017

No enforceable right to wages or regularization for casual workers without lawful engagement by competent authority; unauthorized subordinate communications/identity cards/biometric do not confer service status.

Cases Referred (1)

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member, Ram Mohan Johri, Administrative Member
Mohd. Shabir – Appellant
Versus
State of Jammu and Kashmir – Respondent
Transfer Application No. 675/2020|SWP No.2615/2019|SWP No. 2129/2017