Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Feb 24: High Court today held that the casual labourers in Radio Kashmir Srinagar are not entitled to regularization and set aside the award of Central Government Industrial Tribunal whereby authorities were directed to grant them temporary status and benefits under Casual Labourers Scheme of the Government of India.
The award of the Central Government Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court came to be challenged by the Director General, All India Radio (AIR) on the ground that the Award had been passed in violation of the 1993 Scheme, and that the directions given by the Tribunal to grant temporary status to the casual labourers were not in conformity with the law laid down by the Apex Court in its various judgments.
The Division Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice M Akram Chowdhary said the Award made by the Tribunal and the impugned judgment passed by the Writ Court cannot withstand the test of law.
Court said the Prasar Bharti, in 2019 has promulgated a new scheme for regularization of irregular appointments/engagements in Prasar Bharati (All India Radio & Doordarshan) in pursuance of Department of Personnel & Trainings dated 11.12.2006 as per the parameters of Apex Court.
Director AIR produced a copy of the Scheme before Division Bench and submitted the aggrieved causal labourers are entitled to be considered and could be so considered under the said Scheme, subject, of course, to the condition if they fulfil the relevant eligibility and other criteria prescribed therein.
Court has not made any direction in this behalf and left it to the open for the aggrieved workers to seek implementation of the said scheme, if they consider themselves to be eligible there-under and if they so desire.
Court has set aside the impugned Award of the Tribunal and the judgment of the Writ Court except to the extent two workmen who shown to have been engaged in July, 1991 and April 1992. Court directed the authorities to consider the cases of these two workers and if they are found to be fulfilling all the eligibility criteria under the 1993 Scheme, they shall be granted the temporary status and other benefits retrospectively from the date persons similarly placed were granted such benefits.
Court said the main point of Reference made by the Central Government viz. whether the action of the management of Radio Kashmir, Srinagar, in not regularizing the services of 37 casual workers of Radio Kashmir Srinagar with effect from the date of their joining in the department, was legal and justified. “The workmen cannot claim regularization of their services only on the basis of their length of service and, as such, the act of the respondent-management in not regularising the services of the casual workers is not illegal and unjustified”, reads the judgment.
“So, the Award passed by the Tribunal and the directions contained therein are contradictory in terms. It cannot, therefore, be said that the Award was made by the Tribunal and upheld by the learned Writ Court in the peculiar fact situation of the case; it is rather unsupported by the peculiar fact situation of the case”, DB said.
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