HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE K. MANMADHA RAO
WRIT PETITION No.5401 of 2020
ORDER :
This writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the following relief:-
"to issue an appropriate writ order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents in not paying the Time Scale in terms of the G.O.Ms.No 142, dated 27.8.2018 to the petitioners is illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable and violation of principles of natural justice and consequently direct respondents to pay the Time Scale in terms of the G.O.Ms.No.142 dated 27.8.2018 to the petitioners and to pass such other or further orders......."
2. The brief facts of the case are that earlier the resolution passed by the Gram Panchayat dated 26.12.1990 in which state that the gram panchayat appointed the petitioners on tender basis on 1.1.1991 to 31.,12,1991 the Divisional Panchayat Officer, Nuzvid issued proceedings dated 6.5.1991 and subsequently against the same DPO was issued proceedings and extend the one more year i..e, dated 29.2.1992 and from time to time the same was extending. It is stated that the Government issued.O.Ms.No.572 dated 28.12.2011 wherein stated that Tiruvur Gram Panchayat in Krishna District has upgraded to Tiruvur Nagar Panchayat. The service certificate also issued by the Commissioner Nagar Panchayat, Tiruvur on 30.4.2012, stating that he is working since 1.1.1991 to till date. Thereafter, the Commissioner of Nagar Panchayat, Tiruvur dated 4.1.2013 in which the 2 petitioners herein mentioned that their date of engagement since 1.1.1991 to till date. Thereafter the petitioners made representation on 12.7.2019 to the 1st respondent and the same is pending.
It is further stated that the 3rd petitioner Syed Saleem Pasha, the gram panchayat passed resolution on 26.12.1990 in which stated that engaging on tender/daily wages, accordingly the DPO issued proceedings dated 30.11.1991 engaging the contract basis for Rs.650/- per month for the period from 1.10.1991 to 30.09.1992 and thereafter the Commissioner, Nagar Panchayat addressed a letter to Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration dated 4.1.2013 in which clearly stated that he is working from 31.12.1999 and therefore also he is working as on today discharging his duties and specifically mentioned that 2.1.2000 onwards they are engaging on daily wage basis and also said that the Tiruvur Gram Panchayat is upgraded as Nagar Panchayat and the staff were merged into parent department and the posts are vacant in the Panchayat.
It is also stated that as per G.O.Ms.No.142, dated 27.8.2018 minimum time scale was given to daily wages/NMR/ Full time consolidated pay/Part-time employees who are appointed before the cutoff dated 25.11.1993 and implemented the same. As per respondent authorities statement it clearly and categorically shows that the petitioners herein are working from 1.10.1991 onwards. Earlier the petitioners also have 3 preferred O.A No.9209 of 2013 before the A.P. Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad for minimum time scale post attached to the post of last grade service with all allowances like HRA DA and as revised from time to time to the petitioners with arrears, from the date of completion of 5 years service and also to continue the pay scale with all consequential and monetary and attendant benefits. But the same was dismissed. Thereafter the petitioners made presentation dated 12.7.2019 but the respondents have not taken any action till now. Hence the present writ petition.
3. Counter affidavit is filed by the respondents No.1 and 3 while denying all the averments made in the petition contended that as per the information furnished by the respondent No.4, the petitioners were appointed on 20.12.1992 on Contract basis for maintenance of Pipe Line works, Electrical Motors and maintenance of fogging machine by the then Divisional Panchayat Officer, As per the proceedings issued by the Divisional Panchayat Officer, Nuzvid the petitioners were engaged on contract basis only for the maintenance of Sanitation, Water Supply and Lighting purpose and they continued on contract basis up to 31.12.1997, the Divisional Panchayat Officer, Nuzvid has further stated that since January 1998, the erstwhile Gram Panchayat, Tiruvur has engaged the labour through the contractor and since the petitioners herein were also doing the said works as the contract labour through the Contractor and they continued their services under the Contractor till 2011. It is stated that 4 as per G.O.Ms.No.126 GAD, dated 18.10.2019 has established the Andhra Pradesh Corporation for Outsourced Services (APCOS) and all the names of the contract workers out sourcing workers working as on the date of G.O. were uploaded into the APCOS and since 01.10.2020 the petitioners have been drawing their salaries through APCOS.
It is further stated that the G.O.Ms.No.142 Finance (HR-I Plg & Policy) Department, dated 27.8.2018, it is mentioned that the Full Time/NMRs/ Daily wages/ Consolidated pay/part- time workers, who are already drawing minimum pay + DA in the Revised Pay Scales, 2015 and for part time employees who were appointed prior to 25.11.1993 and who are working in various Government Departments, the State will extend the minimum pay in RPS 2015 as per the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment in Civil ApepalNo.213 of 2013, dated 26th October 2016. The petitioners are appointed prior to the dated 25.11.1993 and G.O.Ms.No.142 issued on 27.8.2018 and therefore the said GO is not applicable to the petitioners as they are working as contract workers since 1991 and therefore the benefit of payment of time scale cannot be extended to the petitioners. Hence, prayed to dismiss the writ petition,
4. Counter affidavit is filed by the 4th respondent while reiterating the contents made in the counter filed by the respondents No.1 and 3, contended that Tiruvur Nagara Panchayat is constituted vide G.O.ms.No.574 M.A & U.D Department, dated 28.12.2011. During constitution of Nagar Panchayat, the contract workers who have been worked in 5 Gram Panchayat are allowed to work on contract basis as per the wages fixed by the Government in Tiruvur Nagar Panchayat and by engaging them through contractor and disbursing payment through respective contract agency only and since 1991 to till today they are working. It is further stated that it is a policy matter to regularize the services of the petitioners and allowing to grant minimum time scale. Further it was observed that G.O.Ms.No.142 is not applicable to the petitioners. Therefore, prayed to dismiss the writ petition.
5. Heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and learned Government Pleader for Service s-IV appearing for the respondents No. 1 to 3 and learned counsel appearing for the respondent No.4.
6. In a case of P. Khadar Basha, S/o. Masthan Khan and four others vs. State of A.P and others1, a Division Bench of this Court held that the pay scale of pay, in Rule 31
(a) of Rule 9 of A.P. Fundamental Rules means pay which, subject to any condition prescribed in those rules, rises by periodical increments from a minimum to maximum. The scale of pay has to change with the change of time by addition of periodical increments and once the minimum pay scale is extended to the temporary employees they are also entitled to addition of increments from time to time in the minimum pay scale, without being entitled to all other allowances to which regular employees are entitled.
1 2017 LawSuit (Hyd) 445 6
7. It is apt to reproduce par It is apt to reproduce paras 7 to 12 of P. Khadar Bash (supra) as under:
"7. The learned senior counsel has also drawn our attention to the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Government of Andhra Pradesh and others Vs. S.Nageswara Rao and others, wherein this Court allowed a similar claim made by NMRs/temporary employees of certain municipalities. In this context, it is apt to extract the observations of the Division Bench below:-
There is no dispute that all of them were given regular scale of pay and also conferred the benefit of revised pay scales as and when new scales were implemented in the State of Andhra Pradesh. After giving regular scale of pay and also granting annual grade increments for some time, various Municipalities and Municipal Corporations stopped releasing increments and giving revised scales of pay, necessitating adjudication of the same by the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. The respondents are casual/NMR/temporary Class-IV employees, who do similar work and discharge similar functions as any regular Class-IV employees. The principle of equal pay for equal work would bar the State or its agents from denying annual grade increments and revised scale of pay to the respondents. We are, therefore, not impressed with the argument that the grant of annual grade increments or grant of revised pay scales to the respondents would contravene the provisions of the A.P.Act 2 of 1994.
8. In our view, the petitioners are entitled to the relief claimed by them based on the above-mentioned precedents. Even otherwise also, going by the definition of time scale of pay in Ruling-31(a) of Rule-9 of the Andhra Pradesh Fundamental Rules, the petitioners are entitled to payment of increments. This Rule reads as under:
Time scale of pay means pay which subject to any condition prescribed in these rules, rises by periodical increments from a minimum to maximum. It indicates the class of pay hirtherto known as progressive.
9. The above-extracted definition of time scale of pay leaves us in no doubt that the scale of pay has to change with the change of times by addition of periodical increments. Otherwise the expression time scale would have no meaning at all.
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10. In the light of the above discussion, we are of the opinion that as the petitioners have been extended the minimum time scale, they are entitled to addition of increments from time to time in the minimum time scale without being entitled to all other allowances which a regular employee is entitled.
11. The learned Government Pleader for Services (Andhra Pradesh) submitted that the Court may consider limiting the grant of annual grade increments to the petitioners to a reasonable past period as, the relief of payment of arrears, if granted from the time of extension of the minimum time scale to the petitioners, would cause huge burden on the exchequer.
12. Though in strict sense, the petitioners are entitled to all the arrears, keeping in view the fact that they have approached the Tribunal only in the year 2013 and also the public interest, we restrict the said benefit only from the date of filing of the said O.A. by the petitioners. The Writ Petition is, accordingly, allowed in part to the extent indicated above. The respondents shall revise the minimum time scale of pay of the petitioners by adding the annual grade increments as and when they fell due from time to time."
8. It is further apt to reproduce paragraph 8 of the Government of Andhra Pradesh and others vs. S. Nageswara Rao and others4 as under:
"8. After referring to Randhir Singh v. Union of India, (1982) 1 SCC 618 : AIR 1982 SC 879, Dhirendra Chamoli v. State of U.P., (1986) 1 SCC 637, Surinder Singh v. Engineer-in-Chief C.P.W.D., (1986) 1 SCC 639 : AIR 1986 SC 584, R.D. Gupta v. Lt. Governor, Delhi Admn., (1987) 4 SCC 505 : AIR 1987 SC 2086, U.P. Incometax Department Contingent Paid Staff Welfare Association v. Union of India, 1987 Supp SCC 658 : AIR 1988 SC 517, State of U.P. v. J.P. Chaurasia, (1989) 1 SCC 121 : AIR 1989 SC 19, and Bhagwan Sahai Carpender v. Union of India, (1989) 2 SCC 299 : AIR 1989 SC 1215, their Lordships observed that the State is obliged to make casual employees the same payment as the regular employees are getting because the emphasis in the decisions of the Court is upon the feature that equal pay for equal work is a Constitutional goal to our socialist polity. The Supreme Court in direction (1) gave a clear 8 direction to sanction annual grade increments to casual employees in the Government establishment."
9. In view of the aforesaid, the petitioners are held entitled to the minimum of pay scale of pay, which on addition of the annual increments changes from time to time, at par with regular employees on respective corresponding posts.
10. The submission of the learned Government Pleader with respect to the extent of establishment pursuant to the G.O.Ms.No.57 dated 13.02.2019 and G.Ms.No.70 dated 29.02.2020, shall have no effect on the applicability of the principle of equal pay for equal work to the case of contractual employees, as the law declared by the Hon‟ble the Apex Court.
11. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed. The respondents are hereby directed to grant minimum of pay scale with annual grade increments from time to time to the petitioners at par with the regular employees discharging the duties corresponding to their respective posts in Gram Panchayats. No order as to costs.
As a sequel, all the pending miscellaneous applications shall stand closed.
______________________________ DR. K. MANMADHA RAO, J.
Date : 1 -08-2022 Gvl 9 HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE K. MANMADHA RAO WRIT PETITION No.5401 of 2020 Date : 01.08.2022 Gvl