3 days ago
High Court Rejects SRO 520 Benefit for 179 J&K Wagers
A group of 179 workers wanted permanent jobs under a government regularisation policy.
They said they had started working before March 17, 2015, when a ban on new daily-wage appointments began.
Their names had appeared on some earlier department lists.
However, they were not included in the final list of 472 workers considered for regularisation.
The government said an inquiry found that their claims were not supported by the records.
The workers did not provide reliable evidence proving they had been hired before the deadline.
The High Court said appearing on an earlier list was not enough to guarantee permanent employment.
It therefore rejected their appeals.
The J&K and Ladakh High Court dismissed appeals by 179 PDD daily wagers seeking regularisation under SRO 520 of 2017.
The workers said they were engaged between 2012 and 2015, before the March 17, 2015 ban on fresh daily-wager engagements.
Their names appeared in earlier departmental lists but were omitted from the final list of 472 PDLs/TDLs considered for regularisation.
The court ruled that preliminary or provisional listing did not establish eligibility without reliable proof of engagement before the cutoff date.
The bench found no reason to overturn the inquiry findings or the writ court’s decision, and dismissed the appeals.
- Who
- The 179 Power Development Department daily wagers, the J&K government, and the J&K and Ladakh High Court division bench.
- What
- The court dismissed the workers’ appeals seeking inclusion in the SRO 520 regularisation process.
- Where
- The case was heard by the J&K and Ladakh High Court.
- When
- The appeals were dismissed on Saturday, with the judgment uploaded on Sunday; the relevant cutoff date was March 17, 2015.
- Why
- The workers failed to provide reliable material proving that they had been engaged before the ban on fresh daily-wager appointments.
Daily Wagers’ Position
Court and Government’s Position
Eligibility for regularisation
Daily Wagers’ Position
The workers said they had been engaged between 2012 and 2015, before the March 17, 2015 cutoff, and therefore qualified for consideration under SRO 520.
Court and Government’s Position
The government and court said the workers failed to establish pre-cutoff engagement with reliable evidence.
Earlier departmental lists
Daily Wagers’ Position
The workers argued that their names had appeared in earlier departmental lists and should not have been removed from consideration.
Court and Government’s Position
The court held that preliminary or provisional inclusion in an earlier list did not itself create a right to regularisation, particularly after verification led to their exclusion.
Departmental records
Daily Wagers’ Position
The workers faced difficulty producing muster rolls and other records, which ordinarily remain in departmental custody.
Court and Government’s Position
The court acknowledged that issue but said it did not remove the workers’ obligation to provide some reliable material supporting their claims.
Key facts
- Petitioners
- 179 daily wagers working in the Power Development Department
- Regularisation policy
- SRO 520 of 2017
- Final departmental list
- 472 PDLs/TDLs were listed for consideration
- Cutoff date
- March 17, 2015
- Relevant government order
- Government Order No. 43-F of 2015 imposed the ban on fresh daily-wage engagements
- Division bench
- Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani
- Outcome
- The intra-court appeals were dismissed
Quotes
J&K and Ladakh High Court Division Bench
Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani
“This, however, does not dispense with the requirement of establishing the fact that the appellants have been engaged prior to the cut-off date.”
thehansindia.com
“The entitlement of the appellants depended clearly upon their establishing that they have been engaged prior to 17.03.2015.”
thehansindia.com
Sources
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