Tripura High Court
Smt. Archana Das vs The State Of Tripura on 6 August, 2021
Page 1 of 5
HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA
AGARTALA
W.P. (C) No.1387/2017
Smt. Archana Das,
W/O- Sri Sanjiv Dey, Sabroom Thakur Palli, P.O- Sabroom,
South Tripura District, 799145.
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
1. The State of Tripura,
represented by the Secretary, Govt. Of Tripura, Urban Development
Department, New Secretariat Complex, Agartala, P.O- Bidhanb Sabha,
799010.
2. The Sabroom Nagar Panchayet,
Sabroom, South Tripura District, represented by its Chairperson,
Sabroom Nagar Panchayet, Sabroom, South Tripura, 799145.
3. The District Magistrate & Collector,
South Tripura District, Belonia.
4. The Director,
Govt. Of Tripura, Urban Development Department, Agartala,
Tripura West.
5. The Executive Officer,
Sabroom Nagar Panchayet, Sabroom, South Tripura District.
6. Smt. Anna Laxmi Tripura, Sri Gunadhar Tripura, LDC, Sabroom
Nagar Panchayet, South Tripura District.
.....Respondent(s)
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. C.S. Sinha, Advocate.
For Respondent(s) : Mr. D. Sarma, Addl. GA.
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. AKIL KURESHI
Date of hearing : 29.07.2021.
Date of delivery of : 06.08.2021.
Judgment & order
Whether fit for reporting : No.
JUDGMENT & ORDER
The petitioner has prayed for her regularization with effect from
01.10.2010 and grant of scale of pay of Rs.5310-24000/- with a Grade Pay
of Rs.1800/- with the further prayer that she should be granted the benefit
of 1st ACP with effect from 01.10.2015.
2. The case of the petitioner is that she along with respondent No.6,
Smt. Annalaxmi Tripura were appointed as DRW (Group-C) under
Sabroom Nagar Panchayat in December, 1997. In October, 1999, services
of the petitioner and respondent No.6 were converted into fixed pay basis
with effect from 01.10.1999. In the year 2005, Sabroom Nagar Panchayat
invited applications for filling up two posts of LDC. The petitioner applied
in response to the said requisition and she was appointed on the said post
as a UR category candidate on 01.10.2005 on fixed monthly salary of
Rs.2,145/-. The Sabroom Nagar Panchayat sent proposal for regularization
of the service of the DRWs, Casual and Contingent workers on completion
of 10 years of service as on 31.03.2008 to the Director of Urban
Development Department, Government of Tripura under a letter dated
20.11.2009. Name of the petitioner was included in the said list. Name of
Smt. Annalaxmi Tripura was also in the said list. Yet another proposal was
made by the Panchayat for the same purpose on 01.07.2013. Despite this,
the petitioner's service was not regularized. She, therefore, made a
representation to the Director of Urban Development Department on
30.10.2013. The petitioner points out that Smt. Annalaxmi Tripura has
been granted regular pay scale with effect from 01.10.2010. Upon
completion of 5 years of continuous service, the petitioner has neither been
granted regular pay scale nor given benefit of 1st ACP, which is provided
to respondent No.6. It is in this background that the petitioner has made
above noted prayers.
3. The respondents have appeared and filed reply in which mainly it is
stated that though proposals were sent by the Panchayat for regularization
of the service of the petitioner, the same could not be accepted. It is
pointed out that Smt. Annalaxmi Tripura was appointed in the post of LDC
under O.M. dated 27.09.2005 against reserved post for ST candidate. In
due course, she was granted regular pay scale and also the benefit of 1 st
ACP as par the policy of the Government. However, with respect to the
petitioner, she was engaged against a post for which vacancy was created
due to promotion of one Sri Gopal Chandra Majumder to the post of UDC
from the post of LDC. It is pointed out that in Sabroom Nagar Panchayat
there was no sanctioned post of UDC and therefore promotion of Sri Gopal
Chandra Majumder was not permissible and was cancelled. It was on
account of un-authorized promotion of Gopal Chandra Majumder that
Sabroom Nagar Panchayat had treated the post of LDC as vacant whereas
such vacancy never arose. On account of such developments,
subsequently, Sabroom Nagar Panchayat has also sent a proposal for
creation of a post of LDC on which the petitioner could be regularized.
4. The documents on record would thus show that though the petitioner
and Smt. Annalaxmi Tripura were initially engaged as DRW on the same
day, Smt. Annalaxmi Tripura was appointed to the post of LDC, which
was reserved for ST category candidates. The petitioner was engaged as
LDC against the post, which was at the relevant time thought to be an un-
reserved vacancy, however, subsequently, it was revealed that the vacancy
had never arisen. The regular incumbent Gopal Chandra Majumder was
promoted to the post of UDC on a non-existent vacancy. Since there was
no such sanctioned post of UDC in Sabroom Nagar Panchayat, under the
instructions of the Director of Urban Development Department, promotion
of Gopal Chandra Majumder was cancelled. Upon reversion of Gopal
Chandra Majumder to the original post of LDC, no post was left vacant for
absorbing the petitioner. The petitioner, therefore, cannot seek
regularization on a post which does not exist. The Sabroom Nagar
Panchayat has, of course, later on sent a proposal for creation of additional
post of LDC on which the petitioner can be absorbed. However, it is
nothing on the record to suggest that such proposal has been accepted by
the Government.
5. Under the circumstances, the prayers of the petitioner cannot be
granted. Petition is dismissed.
Pending application(s), if any, also stands disposed of.
(AKIL KURESHI), CJ
sima
