Service Law – Pay-scale – Appointment as temporary employees against vacant and sanctioned posts – Entitlement to regular pay – Issuance of circular by the Department conferring the benefit of revised pay-scale to employees completing three years after initially being recruited by the Selection Committee at district level and appointed by Collector as temporary employees on fixed wages – Purpose was making provision for temporary employees to avail benefit of regular pay-scale – Department later issued circular that candidates appointed on regular posts under the Special Recruitment Drive would be paid regular pay-scale of the concerned post – Appellants appointed under Special Recruitment Drive, against the vacant posts of part time Swachchkar at rates prescribed by the Collector – As regards, some of the part time sweepers appointed under Special Recruitment Drive, the High Court in Ram Naresh Prajapati’s case extended the benefit of regular pay-scale to the temporary employees appointed under special recruitment drive by Collector’s order, once they completed three years time period after appointment – Appellants submitted representations before the Competent Authority for grant of regular pay-scale in light of Ram Naresh Prajapati’s case, which were rejected – Writ petition thereagainst allowed by the Single Judge of the High Court, however, the Division Bench set aside the order – Correctness:
Held: Appellants are similarly situated as the petitioners in Ram Naresh Prajapati’s case – Petitioners in Ram Naresh Prajapati’s case were also appointed under Special Recruitment Drive, against the vacant posts, on temporary basis – Only factual distinction upheld by the Division Bench in the impugned order, is the subsequent appointment of those petitioners on sanctioned posts of Attendant, Bull-Attendant, Servant, etc. – This factual difference not enough to conclude that appellants are differently situated from Ram Naresh Prajapati’s case, because the appellants have sufficiently proven that they were employed on regular and sanctioned posts by their initial appointment orders – Appellants fulfil all the conditions stipulated in the Circular to grant revised pay-scale – Appellants were appointed on regular posts even though they were temporary – Provisions of the 1979 Rules and the Circular dated 10.05.1984 both fulfilled by the appellants and thus, entitled for regular pay scale – Division Bench of High Court erred in distinguishing the case of Ram Naresh Prajapati’s case from the present appeals – Additionally, Circular dated 07.10.2016 extended the benefit of regular pay-scale to daily wagers – It would be unjust, unfair and arbitrary if such benefit is not extended to the appellants who were appointed as temporary employees against vacant and sanctioned posts – Even if the State denies the benefit of regular pay-scale after completing three years, the appellants shall be benefitted from this Circular dated 07.10.2016 as they were appointed initially as daily wagers at Collector’s rate – Single Judge of the High Court rightly granted the benefit of regular pay-scale to the appellants – Impugned order of the Division Bench set aside and that of the Single Judge upheld – M.P. Veterinary Department Contingency Paid Employees Recruitment & Conditions of Service Rules, 1979. [Paras 14, 15, 17, 18]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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