State of H.P. vs Shri Pawan Dev and Others

Justice Kurian Joseph, Chief Justice

The State has come up in appeal against the judgment dated 26.12.2009 passed in CWP(T) No. 85 of 2009. Learned Single Judge has issued a direction to the appellants to condone the breaks of few days in the mandays chart for the purpose of calculation of required number of days on completion of required number of years for conferment of work charge status/regularization. Learned Single Judge has placed reliance on a judgment of the Apex Court in Md. Abdul Kadir and Another Vs. Director General of Police, Assam and Others, . It was a case where the Apex Court was dealing with the claim of the contributories to the pension scheme under the EPF. Reference was made to a circular of EPF itself that no management should give artificial breaks so as to deny the benefit of pension scheme. That is not the factual position in the instant case. Only those workmen, who completed 240 days continuously for 10 years, are entitled for work charge status/regularization. That is a scheme by itself. Any deficiency in a year, if it is unjustly or arbitrarily made by the employer, it could have been looked into only in an appropriate action either before a Tribunal or before the higher authority of the employer. No such contemporaneous steps seem to have been taken.

Be that as it may, the scheme itself provides for condonation of such breaks, in case absence is attributable to any reason provided in the scheme like ill health, in which case it is to be supported by the required medical certificate etc. Therefore, option available to the petitioners is either to pursue the remedy for condonation in terms of the guidelines or to get the same adjudicated by the Tribunal/Labour Court or to have the same re-looked by the higher authorities.

Learned Counsel for the writ petitioners submits that the petitioners have completed more than 10 years service as of now, but their services have not been regularized, in terms of the scheme in operation in such matters. It will be open to them to point out this grievance before the third and fourth respondents, in which case the appropriate action will be taken by the said respondents, in terms of the prevailing policy. However, as for as the condonation of breaks is concerned, direction in the impugned judgment is vacated and to that extent the judgment will stand modified. It will be open to the writ petitioners to pursue any remedy referred to above. The appeal stands disposed of. Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed of.