Gauhati High Court
Page No.# 1/3 vs The State Of Assam And 5 Ors on 10 February, 2025
Page No.# 1/3
GAHC010018642025
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THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : I.A.(Civil)/272/2025
JOY NARAYAN SARMA AND ANR
S/O- LT. BHABENDRA NATH SARMA, VILL- PATHSALA JYOTI NAGAR,
WARD NO. 1, P.O. PATHSALA, DIST.- BAJALI, ASSAM, PIN- 781325
2: HARI DAS
S/O- LT. DHARMESWAR DAS VILL- METUAKUCHI P.O. BARPETA DIST.-
BARPETA ASSAM PIN- 78130
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 5 ORS
REP. BY THE COMM. AND SECY. TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, PUBLIC
HEALTH ENGINEERING DEPTT., DISPUR, GHY-06
2:THE COMM AND SECY FINANCE DEPTT
DISPUR GUWAHATI 06
3:THE SECRETARY PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING DEPTT
DISPUR GHY-6
4:THE CHIEF ENGINEER PHE
ASSAM HENGRABARI GHY-36
5:THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PHE
NALBARI DIVISION NALBARI- 781334
6:THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PHE
BARPETA DIVISION BARPETA- 7813
For petitioner/appellant(s) : Mrs. R. Devi, Advocate
For respondent(s) : Mr. J. Borthakur, SC, PHE Deptt.
Mr. P. Nayak, SC, Finance
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- BEFORE -
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. VIJAY BISHNOI
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE N. UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR
10.02.2025
(Vijay Bishnoi, CJ)
The matter comes upon for consideration of the Interlocutory Application
preferred on behalf of the applicants with the prayer to condone the delay of 159 days
in filing the connected writ appeal.
Mr. J. Borthakur, learned Standing Counsel, PHE has appeared on behalf of
respondent Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Mr. P. Nayak, learned Standing Counsel, Finance
Department, has put in appearance on behalf of respondent No. 2.
While considering the Interlocutory Application for condonation of delay, we
have also examined connected writ appeal on merits.
The connected writ appeal is preferred against the judgment and order dated
23.07.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C) No. 5820/2021, whereby the
learned Single Judge has refused to interfere with decision of the respondent
Department in declining to regularise the services of the applicants/appellants.
The applicants, who were initially appointed as work charged employee in the
Public Health Engineering Department, Assam, in the year 1988, retired in the year
2022 and 2023. While working as work charged employees, they approached the writ
court with the prayer for regularisation of their service on the ground that since the
applicants were working from the last around three decades, their services were liable
to be regularised. The claim of the applicants for regularisation of their services was
contested by the respondents relying on the decision of the Division Bench of this
Court rendered in State of Assam vs. Upen Das, reported in 2017 4 GLR 493,
wherein the Division Bench of this Court has held that the services of work charged
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employees cannot be regularised and they are only entitled for minimum of the pay
scale.
Having gone through the merits of the case, we are of the view that the learned
Single Judge, while relying on the decision of the Division Bench in Upen Das (supra),
has rightly refused to interfere with the decision of the respondent authorities. Hence,
the impugned judgment passed by the learned Single Judge is not liable to be
interfered with.
In such circumstances, this Interlocutory Application seeking condonation of
delay as well as the connected appeal, which is yet to be registered, are dismissed.
JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE
Comparing Assistant
