Daily wage earners are entitled to dearness allowance but it does not form part of the minimum pay scale.

ORDER

13 th October 2023

These Letters Patent Appeals filed by the State of Jharkhand lay challenge to the order dated 2 nd August 2016 passed in W.P(S) No.1711 of 2015 with W.P.(S) No.1896 of 2015.

2. Through supplementary affidavit dated 22 nd April 2019, this has been brought to the notice of this Court that financial benefits accruing to the writ petitioners by virtue of the order dated 2 nd August 2016 passed by the writ Court have been extended and paid to them.

3. Before the writ Court, fourteen persons who were working on Class-IV posts came raising a grievance against the order dated 16 th October 2014 qua W.P(S) No.1711 of 2015 and the order dated 23 rd September 2014 qua W.P(S) No.1896 of 2015 by which they were denied dearness allowance.

4. Md. Mosharaf Khan and others previously approached this Court in W.P(S) No.5888 of 2013 and Sanjay Kumar Tiwary and others came to this Court in W.P(S) No.4710 of 2012, with a claim that they are entitled for payment of salary in the lowest grade of pay-scale. These writ petitions were disposed of on different dates with a direction to the State of Jharkhand to make payment to them in the lowest grade of pay-scale. The writ Court placed reliance on “Nand Kishore Rai & Ors. v. State of Jharkhand” in W.P(S) No.700 of 2009 and the writ Court’s order was upheld by the Letters Patent Court. This is not in dispute that the writ Court’s order attained finality after a Special Leave to Appeal (C) No……../2013 CC 9080/2013 filed by the State of Jharkhand was dismissed on 8 th May 2013. The State of Jharkhand has accepted the writ Court’s order and made payment to the writ petitioners in the lowest grade of pay-scale since 10 th September 2007. This is also a matter of record that the writ petitioners have now been regularized in service w.e.f. 16 th March 2011.

5. However, the writ petitioners were aggrieved by the decision of the Department of Water Resources, Government of Jharkhand which declined to grant dearness allowance to them.

6. Before the writ Court, basing on the judgment in “Union of India v. Dharampal & Ors.” (1996) 4 SCC 195 , the writ petitioners assailed the order dated 23 rd September 2014/ 16 th October 2014 contending that the minimum of pay-scale shall include dearness allowance.

7. The writ Court has held as under:

“7. Having heard the learned counsels for both sides and upon going through the record, I find that pursuant to the directions of this Court as contained in Annexure-10 to the writ applications, the petitioners have since been paid their wages equal to the salary at the lowest grade of the employees of that cadre in their department. Learned counsel for the petitioners has confined his argument for the payment of dearness allowance only.

8. In Union of India & Others Vs. Dharma Pal and Others, reported in (1996) 4 SCC 195 , the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that the daily wages earners are also entitled to the admissible D.A on their wages equal to minimum scale of pay, laying down the law as follows:-

“6. ----------- The daily wage workers / casual workers who are not regularized and work is taken from them are entitled to minimum of scale of pay prescribed for that post. In addition to that, they are also entitled to 60% of the DA at Punjab pattern which is being followed in all other cases. ----- ----- ."

9. As such, the question whether the persons working on daily wages shall be entitled to the D.A on the minimum of the basic pay scale, is no more res-integra and the Hon'ble Apex Court has held that they are entitled to the benefits of dearness allowance.

10. In view of the aforementioned discussions, the respondents authorities are directed to allow the benefits of D.A to the petitioners also on their wages, equal to the minimum on the basic pay scale, at the rates of D.A applicable from the dates from which the petitioners are getting their wages on the minimum of the pay scale.

11. The respondent authorities, particularly respondent No.2, the Principal Secreta