Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 10: In a major relief for the casual labourers working in Radio Kashmir (RK), High Court today suspended the implementation of its verdict for one month whereby these labourers were not entitled to temporary status and regularization.
The suspension of implementation of judgment which was passed on February 24 has been passed by the Division Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Mohan Lal after the counsel appearing of the casual labourers invited the attention of the court to the undertaking made by the applicant-casual labourers to lodge Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court of India against the judgment of this Court dated 24.02.2022 within a period of six weeks, therefore, on acceptance of the undertaking seeks suspension of the said Judgment for the said period.
“Perusal of the judgment dated 24.2.2022 reveals that there is no direction for discontinuation of the applicant-casual labourers and their status in the department is not changed. Notwithstanding such observation, it shall be appropriate to ask the appellants-Radio Kashmir (RK) not to act upon the Judgment for a period of one month from today. In this view the Judgment, shall remain under suspension for a period of one month from today”, DB directed.
On February 24, High Court had set aside the award of Central Government Industrial Tribunal whereby Radio Kashmir-authorities were directed to grant temporary status and benefits to its casual labourers 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.
Court had 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 with the direction to 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.
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