THE HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA
AND
THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE A.RAJASHEKER REDDY
WRIT APPEAL Nos.520, 521 and 522 OF 2019
COMMON JUDGMENT: (Per the Hon'ble the Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma)
The present Writ Appeals are arising out of a
Common Order dated 04.04.2019 passed in
W.P.Nos.1882, 6404 and 7192 of 2019 by the learned
Single Judge.
The facts of the case reveal that the
appellants/petitioners before this Court were appointed
purely on contractual basis as contract supervisors under
the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme/Modified
National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (now Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana) and in the appointment orders,
which are on record, there was a categorical condition
that their services are purely temporary and will be
terminated at any point of time without giving any prior
notice. The appellants/petitioners have enclosed the
appointment orders and the appointment orders reveal
that they were issued in the year 2012. Though an
averment has been made by the appellants/petitioners
that some of them were appointed in 2008 also, but the
documents which are filed along with the writ petition
reveals that some of the appointments are of the year
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2002. Their services were discontinued from time to time.
Page 129 of the paper book reveals that some of them
were re-engaged on 01.08.2018 (wrongly mentioned as
01.08.2019) and the date of termination mentioned as
31.01.2019. The order was passed on 31.01.2019. The
appellants/petitioners came up before the learned Single
Judge claiming regularisation and had stated that some of
their counterparts have been regularised in the State of
Andhra Pradesh.
Learned Single Judge has disposed of the writ
petitions after hearing the learned counsel for the parties
directing the State Government to consider the cases of
the appellants/petitioners for engaging them as Assistant
Statistical Officers on tenure basis on the same terms and
conditions, in case there is requirement of work. The
appellants/petitioners being aggrieved by the aforesaid
Order have approached this Court by filing the writ
appeals. The relevant portion of the Order passed by the
learned Single Judge is reproduced as under:-
"Learned Government Pleader appearing for the
respondents had contended that the petitioners were
engaged as part time supervisors only for a limited period of 6 to 9 months and as and when there is work under PMFBY Scheme of Agriculture Department. It is also stated that the petitioners are not having requisite qualifications to hold the post of Assistant Statistical 3 Officer, which is a zonal post, and the said post is liable to be filled up by Telangana Public Service Commission and that the Telangana Public Service Commission has already issued a recruitment notification inviting applications to fill up the vacant posts of Assistant Statistical Officer and the tenure of the petitioners, who were engaged on tenure basis, has come to an end by 28.01.2019 and they have no right to continue as Assistant Statistical Officers. Learned Government Pleader also contends that whenever a direct recruitee or regular employee is appointed, the temporary employee has no right and he/she has to make way for such regular employees. Learned Government Pleader further contends that when the petitioners are working on tenure basis, the moment their tenure comes to an end, their services would be automatically terminated and the question of their continuation beyond the time prescribed in their appointment orders cannot be considered and the petitioners are not entitled for equal pay for equal work and they are also not entitled for regularization of their services.
This Court, having considered the rival submissions of the learned counsel for respective parties, is of the considered view that these writ petitions can be disposed of directing the respondents to consider the cases of the petitioners for engaging them as Assistant Statistical Officers on tenure basis on the same terms and conditions as was done in the past, if there is requirement of work by the respondents. However, it is made clear that the petitioners will continue on the same terms and conditions, as was done in the past, till the regular Assistant Statistical Officers are recruited, if there is work available with the respondents, and whenever regular Assistant Statistical Officers are recruited, the petitioners will vacate their posts."
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The petitioners are claiming regularisation on the basis of the Judgments delivered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Union Public Service Commission v. Girish Jayanthi Lal Vaghela1, State of Karnataka v. Umadevi 32, State of Karnataka v. M.L.Kesari3, Nihal Singh v. State of Punjab4 and Karnataka State Private College Stop-Gap Lecturers Association v. State of Karnataka5.
This Court has perused the documents on record and the undisputed facts make it very clear that the appellants/petitioners were appointed under National Agriculture Insurance Scheme purely on temporary basis and it is nobody's case that they have continued uninterruptedly till date. The documents filed by the appellants/petitioners make it very clear that they were engaged and disengaged from time to time and the documents which are on record terminating their services dated 31.01.2019 makes it very clear they were re-engaged on 01.08.2018 (wrongly mentioned as 01.08.2019) and terminated again on 31.01.2019.
A counter affidavit has been filed by the State Government stating that the post, on which the 1 2006 (2) SCALE 115 2 (2006) 4 SCC 1 3 (2010) 9 SCC 247 4 (2013) 14 SCC 65 5 AIR 1992 SC 677 5 appellants/ petitioners are claiming regularisation, is the post of Assistant Statistical Officer which is a technical post and selection process is conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) keeping in view the Statutory Rules governing the field known as 'Telangana State Economics and Statistical Subordinate Service Rules prescribed in G.O.Ms.No.42, dated 11.06.1991. It has been stated by the State Government that the appellants/petitioners were not engaged in regular vacancy in the Department and they were engaged on seasonal basis as and when there was a need for implementation of Crop Insurance Scheme of Agriculture Department. It has been further stated that initially some of the appellants/petitioners were engaged on contract/part time supervisors in Mandals of Mahaboobnagar, Karimnagar and Medak Districts on pilot basis to supervise crop cutting experiments and the District Collectors were empowered to select and engage Primary Workers at village level and Supervisors at Mandal level. It has been further stated that the appellants/petitioners cannot claim salary at par with the Assistant Statistical Officer/Mandal Planning and Statistical Officer and they are not at all doing the same job and they have been engaged purely on part-time basis 6 that too for implementation of National Agriculture Insurance Scheme and therefore, as they have not worked continuously, the question of granting them the benefit of Judgment delivered in the case of State of Punjab v. Jagjit Singh6 does not arise. It has also been stated that regular Assistant Statistical Officers have already been selected by Telangana State Public Service Commission after holding a competent examination and selected candidates have already been given postings, and therefore, the question of continuing the services of the casual/part-time employees without any work in the Department does not arise.
The appellants/petitioners have also filed a reply to the counter affidavit filed by the State Government and it has been reiterated that their appointments are regular appointments and they are entitled for pay scale of Assistant Statistical Officer. Heavy reliance has been placed upon the Judgment in the case of Nihal Singh (supra) and it has been stated that they are getting only Rs.15,000/- (Rupees fifteen thousand only) per month which is a meagre amount.
This Court has carefully gone through the documents on record and the Judgments referred by the learned counsel for the parties.
6 (2017) 1 SCC 148 7 It is nobody's case that the appellants/petitioners were appointed against the permanent posts. They were appointed purely on contract/temporary basis under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the contract period has come to an end. The respondents have appointed regular persons through the process of selection conducted by the Telangana State Public Service Commission and therefore, the question of issuing any direction to the State Government to grant salary of the post of Assistant Statistical Officer to backdoor entrants who have not worked regularly, does not arise. However, the observation made by the learned Single Judge for engaging them in case there is a requirement in the Department does not warrant any interference.
This Court does not find any reason to set aside the Order passed by the learned Single Judge observing that regularisation as claimed by the appellants/petitioners and the payment of salary as claimed by the appellants cannot be granted in a mechanical manner. The appellants/petitioners have failed before this Court in establishing their cases for grant of regular salary as they were engaged on part-time basis and they have also failed to demonstrate that they have performed the duties of 8 Assistant Statistical Officers. No case is made out to interfere with the well considered Order of the learned Single Judge.
In the light of the aforesaid, the writ appeals are dismissed. Miscellaneous petitions, if any pending, shall stand dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.
_____________________________ SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA, CJ ________________________ A.RAJASHEKER REDDY, J 13.12.2021 Pln