The court affirmed the right to regularization of services and terminal benefits for employees, even posthumously, based on established contributions to insurance schemes.

ORDER

The petitioner has filed the above writ petition seeking for a direction to the second respondent to regularise the services of the petitioner's husband from the original date of his appointment with consequential benefits such as Family Pension, Arrears of Family Pension, gratuity, Group Insurance Amount to the extent of Rs.1,50,000/- by the third respondent/Life Insurance Corporation.

2. The petitioner is the wife of late Kadumpadi. The petitioner's husband Kadumpadi was employed as an Overhead Tank Operator in Division 192 Unit 44 Zone 15, Corporation of Chennai. He died on 30.01.2012 while he was in service, leaving behind his surviving legal heirs viz. wife, mother, son and daughter. The District Collector, Kancheepuram issued a circular that the temporary employees are eligible to get Group Insurance amount. Accordingly, Group Insurance subscription amount has also been recovered from the salaries of the employees and credited in the LIC. The employees were transferred to Chennai Corporation and thereafter, their contribution amount was not recovered from their salary and credited into the LIC. After the death of Kadumpadi, the petitioner has applied for the group insurance amount. However, she was informed by the respondents 3 & 4 that the respondents 1 & 2 have not forwarded necessary papers to the third respondent.

3. According to the affidavit, the petitioner's husband has worked as Over Head Tank Operator in Division 192 of Chennai Corporation during his life time as regular employee of Chinnaneelankarai and he was also a member of Group Insurance Scheme. In this regard, the then Executive Officer of Chinnaneelankarai also remitted the Group Insurance amount. However, now after the death of the petitioner's husband, the respondents are not settling the terminal benefits.

4(a) The learned counsel for the petitioner relied upon the judgment of this Court reported in 2010 (1) CLT 651 [V.V.Sivanandam v. Principal., Pondicherry Engineering College, Pondichery] wherein the Division Bench of this Court in W.A.No.525 of 2005 dated 28.01.2010 has held that the claim of regularisation of the services already rendered would not cease to exist on his retirement. The Division Bench has further issued a direction for regularisation of services and also for consequential benefits.

4(b) The learned counsel for the petitioner also relied upon the Full Bench judgment of this Court in W.P.No.23823 of 2023 in M.Sivappa vs. The State of Tamil Nadu and Ors. reported in MANU/TN/2077/2024 ad sought for granting relief as prayed for.

5(a) The second respondent/Zonal Officer, Corporation of Chennai, Sholinganallu, Chennai has filed counter wherein it is stated that the petitioner's husband Kadumpadi was working on daily wages in Neelankarai Panchayat as O.H.T operator. When the Neelankarai Panchayat was merged with Corporation of Chennai on 25.10.2011, the said Kadumpadi was working as a O.H.T. Operator on daily wages basis. The said Kadumpadi died on 30.01.2012. The erstwhile Neelankarai Panchayat has not handed over any document in support of recovery towards subscription for Group Insurance Scheme to the Corporation of Chennai. After the merger of Neelankarai Panchayat with Corporation of Chennai, the said Kadumpadi was engaged as daily wage at a wage rate of Rs.195/- per day and he has worked as Over Head Tank Operator from 25.10.2011 to 31.01.2012. The details of his employment as daily wage worker from November 2011 to January 2012 is given below -

5(b) The crux of the counter is that the deceased daily wage worker Kadumpadi was working with Neelankarai Village Panchayat on daily wage basis as O.H.T. Operator and he was not working as permanent employee or apprentice. According to the learned Standing Counsel for the Corporation, after the merger of Neelankarai Panchayat with Corporation of Chennai, they have not received any records relating to contri