Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 15: High Court while dismissing the batch of review petitions filed by the disengaged casual labourers of Animal Husbandry Department against the Judgment of division bench said that their dis-engagement is valid and legal.
The division bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Rajnesh Oswal had allowed 14 appeals filed by the department of Animal Husbandry in a common judgment by holding that the nature of engagements of these employees have no vested right to them to continue in the department indefinitely.
Court has said when the authority under which these employees were engaged from time to time stood withdrawn in terms of Government order dated 17.3.2015 as such the decision of the department for disengaging them from the services is within their right.
The Government aggrieved of these directions challenged the single bench judgment by way of filing of 14 appeals on the ground that the writ court has not appreciated that the engagement of these employees was on need basis with the conditions that their services be disengaged at any time.
The DB after having heard the Government said, there is no dispute that these engagements were made on need basis and not in pursuance of any selection process as such it was done purely on pick and choose method and prior to the year 1994 the Government confer benefit of regularization under SRO 64 of 1994 to such daily wagers who had completed seven years till March 31 1994.
However, the Government put a complete ban on the fresh engagements of daily rated workers and work charge employees that with the effect from commencement of the Rule 7 of the said SRO in any of the Government department by providing that no field or subordinate officer shall have any power for engagement of daily rated workers and the existing delegation if any, in this regard stand withdrawn.
Court while referring the Government order of March 17, 2015 said, it clearly transpires that the authority to engage such kind of employees delegated by the Government to various departments has been withdrawn with immediate effect and as consequence thereof none of the authorized departments was left with any authority to engage the casual or seasonal labourers in their departments.
The DB as such recorded that after issuance of the Government order, the department had no authority to extend their engagements or permit them to continue on need basis as the engagement authority stood withdrawn by the Government.
The Review Bench of Justice Kumar and Justice Oswal today while seeking review of the DB judgment said, Review proceedings cannot be equated with the original hearing of the case and a review is by no means an appeal in disguise whereby an erroneous decision is reheard and corrected but lies only for patent error.
“No other sufficient reason analogous to the error apparent on the face of record or discovery of new relevant material is either pleaded or demonstrated in these petitions. The issues which have been sought to be re-agitated have already been considered, debated and decided in the judgment sought to be reviewed. 6 12. For the aforesaid reasons, we find no merit in these review petitions, same are accordingly, dismissed”, DB concluded.
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