Work-charged and contingency paid employees are entitled to leave encashment under the Leave Rules of 1977.

The petitioners, comprising legal heirs of deceased employees and retired employees of the Public Works Department (PWD), filed a writ petition seeking leave encashment benefits

They claimed entitlement under the Chhattisgarh Work-Charged/Contingency Paid Employees Leave Rules, 1977

The petitioners asserted that their claims are identical to those already adjudicated by the High Court in previous litigations, yet remained unaddressed by the State authorities

1. Whether the petitioners, as work-charged/contingency paid employees (or their legal heirs), are entitled to the benefit of leave encashment under the prevailing Service Rules

2. Whether the respondent authorities are required to process the petitioners' claims in light of established judicial precedents on the same subject matter

The Court primarily applied the Chhattisgarh Work-Charged/Contingency Paid Employees Leave Rules, 1977, which govern the leave entitlements of the concerned class of employees

It relied heavily on the precedent set in Faguvaram Patel & Others v. State of Chhattisgarh & Others (W.P.(S) No. 3870/2021, decided on 30.09.2022), which established the right to leave encashment for similarly situated employees

This principle was further bolstered by the Division Bench's affirmation of the said rule in W.A. No. 119/2023, decided on 20.06.2023

The Court observed that the grievance raised by the petitioners was no longer res integra, as the legal entitlement to leave encashment for work-charged and contingency paid employees had already been settled in the Faguvaram Patel case

By referencing the Division Bench's affirmation of the earlier ruling, the Court determined that the respondents had a legal obligation to accord similar treatment to all "similarly placed persons" to ensure consistency in the application of the 1977 Rules

Rather than adjudicating the merits of each individual petitioner's service record, the Court directed the executive authorities to apply the existing judicial framework to the petitioners' specific claims within a defined timeframe

The Court held that the authorities must act in accordance with the decision rendered in Faguvaram Patel & Others and the subsequent Division Bench order

The respondents are ordered to complete this process within a maximum limit of 120 days from the receipt of the Court's order