Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
U.P. INCOME-TAX DEPARTMENT CONTINGENT PAID STATEWELFARE ASSO
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT04/12/1987
BENCH:
VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)
BENCH:
VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)
SINGH, K.N. (J)
CITATION:
1988 AIR 517 1988 SCR (2) 170
1987 SCC Supl. 658 JT 1987 (4) 585
1987 SCALE (2)1222
CITATOR INFO :
R 1988 SC 519 (4)
F 1990 SC 883 (8)
ACT:
Contingent Paid Staff-Regularisation of their Services.
HEADNOTE:
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The petitioner, the Association of the U.P. Income-tax
Department Contingen. Paid Staff is aggrieved that even
though its members have been rendering service as class IV
employees in the U.P. Incometax Department for a large
number of years, the Department is not regularising their
services and absorbing them in the class lV services, and
they are being paid wages as daily rated labourers, lower
than the salary and allowances paid to the class IV
employees of the Department. The petitioner filed a Writ
Petition in this Court, praying for a writ of mandamus for
the relief above-mentioned.
Allowing the petition, the Court,
^
HELD: The questions involved in this case are almost
the same as in the Writ Petitions Nos. 373 and 302 of 1986,
decided by this Court by its judgment dated October 27,
1987, reported in Daily Rated Casual Labour Employed under P
JUDGMENT:
Union of India and Ors. (JT. 1987 [4] S.C. 164), and the
same orders/directions as given in that case, be passed in
this case. Accordingly, respondents directed to pay wage. to
the workmen employed as contingent paid staff of the Income-
tax Department throughout India, doing the work of class IV
employees at the rates equivalent to the minimum pay in the
pay scale of the regularly employed workers in the
corresponding cadres, without any increments with effect
from December 1, 1986. Such workmen are also entitled to
corresponding dearness allowance and additional dearness
allowance payable thereon. Whatever other benefits are now
being enjoyed by the said workmen shall continue to be
extended to them. The respondents shall prepare a scheme on
a rational basis for absorbing as far as possible the
contingent paid staff of the Income-tax Department, who have
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been continuously working for more than one year as Class lV
employees in the Income-tax Department. [l7lH; 172H; 173A-C]
171
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ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1670
of 1986.
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India).
R.C. Kaushik for the Petitioner.
V.C. Mahajan, Ms. A. Subhashini and Girish Chandra for
the Respondents.
The following order of the Court was delivered
O R D E R
This is a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution
of India.
The petitioner in this case is the U.P. Income-tax
Department Contingent Paid Staff Welfare Association. The
members of the said association, as the name of the
Association itself suggests, are the contingent paid staff
in the Income-tax Department. Their complaint is that even
though they have been rendering the service as Class IV
employees in the Income-tax Department for a large number of
years, the Income-tax Department has not taken steps to
regularise their services and to absorb them as members of
the Class IV services and that they are being paid wages as
daily rated labourers lower than the salary and allowances
which the Class IV employees of the Department have been
drawing. They pray for the issue of a writ in the nature of
mandamus to the respondents to pay them the same salary and
allowances which are paid to the employees of the Department
in corresponding posts and also for regularising their
service. A counter-affidavit has been filed on behalf of the
respondents. The respondents do not deny that the contingent
paid staff are being paid daily wages lower than what is
being paid to regular employees. It also refers to certain
Government order providing for regularisation under certain
terms and conditions.
When this petition came up for admission the Court
directed that this case should be listed after the disposal
of the Writ Petitions No. 373 and 302 of 1986 instituted by
the daily rated casual labour employed in the Posts and
Telegraph Department, since the questions involved in this
case and in those two writ petitions were almost the same.
By its judgment dated 27.10.1987 in Daily Rated Casual
Labour employed under P & T Department
172
though Bhartiya Dak Tar Mazdoor Manch v. Union of lndia &
Ors., (JT. 1987 4 S.C. 164, this Court has issued the
following directions as regards the claim of the daily rated
workmen involved therein for higher wages:-
"We accordingly direct the Union of India and
the other respondents to pay wages to the workmen
who are employed as casual labourers belonging to
the several categories of employees referred to
above in the Posts & Telegraph Department at the
rates equivalent to the minimum pay in the pay
scales of the regularly employed workers in the
corresponding cadres but without any increments
with effect from 5th February, 1986 on which date
the first of the above two petitions, namely, Writ
Petition No. 302 of 1986 was filed. The
petitioners are entitled to corresponding Dearness
Allowance and Additional Dearness Allowance? if
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any, payable thereon. Whatever other benefits
which are now being enjoyed by the casual
labourers shall continue to be extended to them."
On the claim for regularisation of the services of the
workmen involved in the above-mentioned case, this Court
issued the following direction:-
"We, therefore, direct all the respondents to
prepare a scheme on a rational basis for absorbing
as far as possible the casual labourers who have
been continuously working for more than one year
in the Posts and Telegraph Department."
The facts and circumstances of the present case are
similar to the facts and circumstances of the case relating
to the daily rated labour in the Posts and Telegraph
Department. We have carefully considered the pleas in the
counter-affidavit. The Government orders providing for the
absorption of the contingent paid staff are hedged in by a
number of conditions. We also find that many such employees
have been working on daily wages for nearly eight years and
more. We are not satisfied with the scheme which is now in
force. We are, therefore, of the view that in this case also
we should issue the same directions as in the above decision
for the reasons given by the Court in the above decision. We
accordingly allow this Writ Petition and direct the
respondents to pay wages to the workmen who are employed as
the contingent paid staff of the Income-tax Department
173
throughout India, doing the work of Class IV employees at
the A rates equivalent to the minimum pay in the pay-scale
of the regularly employed workers in the corresponding
cadres, without any increments with effect from 1st
December, 1986. Such workmen are also entitled to
corresponding Dearness Allowance and Additional Dearness
Allowance payable thereon. Whatever other benefits which are
now being enjoyed by the said workman shall continue to be
extended to them. We further direct the respondents to
prepare a scheme on a rational basis for absorbing as far as
possible the contingent paid staff of the Income-tax
Department who have been continuously working for more than
one year as Class IV employees in the Income-tax Department.
This petition is accordingly disposed of with no order
as to costs.
S.L. Petition allowed.
174