Gujarat High Court: While answering a vital question based on grant of benefits of conversion of status from work charged establishments to temporary establishment as well as raising the pay scale on completion of 9, 18 and 27 years of service, J.B. Pardiwala, J., found no restriction in granting the petitioners the benefits and higher wages demanded by them as rejecting such claim will amount to mockery of justice and discrimination. The Court further observed that converting the petitioners from work charged establishments to temporary establishments and providing higher pay scales to ones who completed 9, 18and 27 years of service would result in an atmosphere of trust whereby the employees are sure that their trust shall be treated with dignified fairness resulting in good governance.
In the present case, the petitioners who were serving as Scientific Assistants, had moved a petition for the grant of higher pay scales .The counsel for petitioner, N.K.Majmudar strongly relied on the Government Resolution dated 16-8-1973 according to which permanent status should be conferred on the work charged employee on completion of minimum 5 years of service and higher pay scales on completion of 9, 18 and 27 years of service. The counsel further added that the petitioners got the temporary status after 10 years, till then they were deprived of promotion, advancements and higher pay scales whereas completing 25 years of service by the petitioners at a stretch itself connotes the nature of work to be permanent. The arguments of the petitioner were vehemently opposed by the respondent counsel Prakash K. Jani by submitting that only posts related to maintenance and repairs of works or irrigation management which are either required permanently or for a long term basis would be converted into temporary posts and that the number of posts already existing are taken into consideration and that there is no provision to convert the post with a retrospective effect.
Perusing the contentions and relevant material on the point, the Court observed that the petitioners cannot be kept in the work charged establishment throughout their life when the nature of work is perennial. The Court stated that it was depressing that not even once in last 30 years the State Government thought it fit to consider the case of the petitioners for being absorbed on the temporary establishment. The Court suggested the Government to act in a reasonable and non arbitrary manner on the issue. [S.D. Patel v. State of Gujarat, 2016 SCC OnLine Guj 74, decided on 04.02.2016]
