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Judgment
PER: RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, JUDICIAL MEMBER:
The applicant has approached this Tribunal to seek the following relief:
“Directing the Respondents to regularise the service of the Petitioners/Applicants as per the circular /scheme framed by the Prasarbharati & direction given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in State of Karnataka &Ors v/s Uma Devi & ors. Case.”
The Applicants/Petitioners are serving as Casual employee for a decade under the All India Radio (AIR), Agartala. They are aggrieved that despite serving more than a decade, their services have not been regularised. So they have approached this Tribunal seeking direction upon the respondents to regularise their services.
Learned counsel for the applicants submitted that the Director (Admn) Prasar Bharati vide Circular dated, 05/09/2019, notified a Scheme for regularization of irregular appointment / Engagement in Prasar Bharati (AIR) Dordarshan in pursuance of Department of Personnel & Training OM No49019/1/2006-Estt(C) dated 11/12/2006, as per parameter laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court by its Judgment in CA 3595-3612 of 1999 (Secretary State of Karnataka &Ors versus Uma Devi &Ors.). Said Scheme has also been approved by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in consultation with the Department of Personnel and Training and the Ministry of Law.
Learned counsel for the applicants has referred Para -4 of the aforesaid Circular dated 05.09.2019 wherein it is mentioned that those irregular appointees /engages who claim to fulfil the above criteria may submits their applications to the Heads of Offices of the respective offices/Stations/Kendras by 04.11.2029. Learned counsel has also referred Para 5, which also states that the Heads of Office of the respective offices/Stations/Kendras and other offices of All India Radio and Doordarshan, CCW and News Directorates, including RNUs shall comply all applications so received and forward the same along with copies of the relevant records, duly certified by the Heads of Office, to the Directorate General of AIR/Directorate General of Doordarshan/Director General (NSD)/DG:DD News or CE, CCW as the case may be.
Thereafter, the DDG (IARS) Prasar Bharati, issued Circular dated 05/11/2021 (Annexure A-2) regarding forwarding of online application submitted on IARS Portal for preliminary scrutiny by the concerned AIR. In the said circular, parameter for determining eligibility for regularization were mentioned in the following manner for ready reference:—
(i)Cut of Date:- only those irregular appointees / engages who had put in 10 years of continuous service against duly sanctioned vacant posts but not under the cover of order of courts or Tribunals as on 10/ 04/2006. (Date of judgment in Uma Devi case)
(ii)Only full time irregular appointees /engages would be eligible to be considered:- part time irregular appointees / engages or those engaged through the contractor or any other agency would not be eligible.
(iii)Consideration of only those engaged against duly sanctioned posts: - only such full time irregular appointees /engages would be eligible to be considered who were initially engaged and continued against duly sanctioned posts.
(iv)Consideration of only those who were eligible for appointment to the post as per recruitment rules at the time of their initial engagement: - only such full time irregular appointees / engages would be eligible to be considered who were eligible for appointment to the post as per recruitment rules in vogue at the time of their initial engagement.
As per the learned counsel, all the applicants are squarely covered by the aforesaid Scheme and all of them full fill parameter for determining eligibility for regularization. They submitted their online application on IARS Portal for preliminary-scrutiny by the concerned Head of Office and each of the applicants were given application ID.
That, out of the 795 shortlisted candidates, a final list of 379 applicants who are eligible irregular appointees for regularisation was published and in the said list, the name of the applicants are at Serial No- 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45.
Applicants individually submitted representation to the CEC for regularization of their services as per Scheme with all particulars at Annexure A4 narrating all the facts and their eligibility as per the Scheme formulated by the Prasar bharati but the Chief Executive Officer did not reply anything to the representation filed by the applicants.
Respondents have filed their reply wherein they stated that a Scheme for regularization of irregular appointments/engagements in Prasar Bharati (All India Radio &Doordarshan) was prepared by PB in pursuance of DoPT O.M. No.49019/1/2006-Estt(C) dated 11.12.2006 as per parameters laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in CA 3595-3612 of 1999 (Secretary, State of Karnataka and ors. vs Uma Devi and ors.). The Scheme was approved by MIB in consultation with DoPT and DoLA. That, the Scheme dated 22.08.2019 (Annexure -R/2) indicated the parameters for determining the eligibility for regularization, procedure for consideration of claims etc. and it was circulated vide circular dated 05.09.2019(Annexure-R/3) for consideration of claims for regularization of irregular appointees/engages by inviting applications physically through post. The last date for submitting the applications by irregular; appointees/engages to the HoD of the respective offices/stations/Kendras was 04.11.2019 and scrutiny to be completed by the respective Directorates was 04.02.2020. That the claimants experienced inconvenience during submission of application physically, therefore, Prasar Bharati decided to make the entire process of receipt of applications all over India online and developed an IT Portal to receive applications in transparent manner. That Prasar Bharati Secretariat vide Circular No.03/04/2019-LC dated 16.12.2020(Annexure -R/4) invited online applications from those who were desirous to apply for consideration of their claim for regularization as per the criteria laid down in the scheme dated 22.08.2019. Some of the claimants submitted representations that they could not submit their applications within stipulated time period due to lack of information and other issues. The matter was considered sympathetically and date of registration/submission of application on IARS portal was extended upto 15.04.2021(midnight) vide PB circular dated 08.03.2021. However, only 5962 claimants had finally submitted their online applications till the extended last date. 795 applicants were shortlisted post preliminary screening on the basis of Date of Joining (D.O.J i.e. on or before 11.04 1996). After further screening, a list of 379 applicants was prepared. After verification of all credentials as per eligibility criteria mentioned in the aforesaid scheme, Head of Office, AIR Agartala forwarded the all applications back to the IARS Portal on 05.02.2022. As the process of scrutiny of all the online applications received was still going on, it was not possible to address said representations/query made by the individual applicants in the matter at that stage.
Respondents have pleaded that all the nine (09) applicants had applied online through the IARS Portal under the Prasar Bharati Scheme for regularization dated 22.08.2019. Their applications have been scrutinized as per the parameters prescribed in the said scheme. However, after scrutiny of their respective applications received through IARS portal, none of the nine (09) applicants have been found eligible for regularisation as none of them fulfilled the eligibility criteria prescribed in the said Prasar Bharati Scheme. The result of their applications have already been communicated to all the applicants/petitioners through their respective email id on 16.07.2024.
We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the records.
The learned counsel for the applicants submitted that the law is well settled and has placed reliance the following judgments:
Dharam Singh and OrsVs. State of UP &Anr. in Civil Appeal No. 8558 of 2018, the Hon’ble Apex Court held that,
Shripal and Another v. Nagar Nigam, Ghaziabad [2025 SCC Online SC 221],
Jaggo v. Union of India and Others [2024 SCC Online SC 3826],
Basudeb Debnath v. Union of India &Ors WP (C) 1162 of 2018
Prem Singh Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh &Ors [2019 Supreme SC 1044
Bhikani Devi and Etc. vs. Union of India & Others in Civil Appeal No. SLP (C) Nos. 28802-28804 of 2019.
It is admitted position by both the parties that the applicants are working with the respondent authorities since 1994 and till today, they had worked approximately for more than 30 years with the Department as casual labour and daily labourer against the sanctioned/vacant posts. Their services have been utilised since 1994 uninterruptedly. Hence, their cases should be considered by the respondents as per law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Jaggo v. Union of India (supra) wherein it was held that long-term temporary or part-time workers who have served continuously for over a decade in essential, perennial roles are entitled to regularization.
Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and perusal of the records, we direct the respondents to consider the case of the applicants as per the latest various judgements including Uma Devi & Jaggo (supra) and as per Circular/Scheme framed by the Prasar Bharati (supra) within a period of 03 months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
Accordingly, O.A. stands allowed. Pending M.A., if any, stands disposed of. No order as to costs.