J&K Tribunal Gives Power Utility 12 Weeks To Decide 63 Kashmir Workers’ Claim For Backdated Regularisation And Parity With Jammu Employees

In brief

The question

1. Whether the applicants’ claim for notional regularization from an appropriate anterior date, with consequential service benefits, should be considered by the respondents in light of the DPC proceedings, subsequent relaxation, and their 2022 regularization.

The court held

The application was disposed of with a direction to treat it as a representation and consider the applicants’ claim for notional regularization from an appropriate anterior date, with consequential benefits including seniority.

It also directed

The competent authority must issue a detailed, reasoned order within twelve weeks of receiving a certified copy of the Tribunal’s order.

The Tribunal expressed no view on the merits, left all questions of fact and law open, and made no order as to costs.

01Facts

The applicants, daily-rated workers/PDLs-TDLs in the erstwhile Power Development Department, submitted that their cases were considered by the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) in 2017 and 2018 but were not finalized pending age/qualification relaxation.

¶ 2

After relaxation was granted in October 2022, they were regularized prospectively from 13 October 2022.

¶ 4

They sought notional regularization from an earlier date, relying on the treatment of similarly situated Jammu Division employees, who were regularized notionally from 15 July 2019 under an order dated 17 June 2022.

¶ 5

At the hearing, they requested that the application be treated as a representation for consideration of that claim; the respondents did not oppose disposal with appropriate directions.

¶ 7–8

The Tribunal allowed the application to file jointly.

¶ 1

02Issues

i.1. Whether the applicants’ claim for notional regularization from an appropriate anterior date, with consequential service benefits, should be considered by the respondents in light of the DPC proceedings, subsequent relaxation, and their 2022 regularization.

¶ 7, 11

ii.2. Whether the applicants are similarly situated to, and entitled to parity with, the Jammu Division employees regularized under the order dated 17 June 2022.

¶ 11

03Law Applied

The Tribunal cited no specific statute, precedent, or substantive service-law doctrine.

It directed the competent authority to determine the applicants’ claim in accordance with the applicable service rules, regulations, government instructions, and governing law, subject to the applicants satisfying the eligibility and entitlement requirements and there being no legal impediment.

¶ 11

The authority was also required to assess whether the applicants were similarly situated to the employees covered by the Jammu Division order.

¶ 11

04Reasoning

The Tribunal did not decide whether the applicants were entitled to retrospective or notional regularization.

Given the limited prayer made at the hearing and the respondents’ acceptance of disposal with appropriate directions, it considered that keeping the application pending would serve no useful purpose.

¶ 7–10

It therefore left the merits open and required the competent authority to assess the DPC proceedings, relaxation, regularization order, and claimed parity with the Jammu Division employees under the applicable law.

¶ 11, 13