Central Administrative Tribunal - Jammu
Nawab Hussain vs School Education Department on 26 December, 2025
:: 1 :: TA 191/2024
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
JAMMU BENCH, JAMMU (RESERVED)
Hearing through video conferencing
Transfer Application No. 191/2024
Reserved on: - 20.08.2025
Pronounced on: - 26.12.2025
HON'BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAM MOHAN JOHRI, MEMBER (A)
Nawab Hussain, Age 36 years, S/o G H Nabi Gujjar, R/o Gund
Adalkote, Tehsil Banihal, District Ramban.
...Petitioner
(Advocate: - Mr. K.K. Pathan)
Versus
1. State of J&K through Commissioner/Secretary to Govt. School
Education Department, Jammu/Srinagar.
2. Director, School Education.
3. Chief Education Officer, Ramban.
4. Zonal Education Officer, Banihal District Ramban.
5. Govt. Girls Middle School Shabanbass, Banihal, District Ramban.
...Respondents
(Advocate:- Mr. Sudesh Magotra, Ld. AAG)
HARSHIT Digitally
by HARSHIT
signed
YADAV YADAV
:: 2 :: TA 191/2024
ORDER
Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member
1. The SWP No.2124/2017 was transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.191/2024 by the Registry of this Tribunal.
2. The present matter was filed before the Hon'ble High Court seeking following relief: -
" Mandamus:-
Commanding upon the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioner after completion of seven years which the petitioner has completed in the year 2016 or in the alternative the respondents be directed to appoint the petitioner on regular basis in lieu of the land donated by him as per the policy decision of the government as well as judgment of the Hon'ble Division Bench; further Mandamus: so as to direct and command the respondents to enhance and pay the wages to the petitioner as per the Minimum Wages Act till the regularization is made by the respondents..
Any other writ, direction or order, which on the facts and circumstances of the case, this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper, may also be issued in the interest of justice equity and fair play.
3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -
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a) The applicant/petitioner claims to be a permanent resident of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and asserts entitlement to all constitutional and statutory protections. The foundation of the present claim is traced to the donation of land by the applicant's grandmother for construction of a Government school building at village Gund Adalkote, Tehsil Banihal, District Ramban. It is pleaded that the land was donated free of cost for public purpose, and in consideration thereof, the applicant's grandmother was engaged as a Safaiwali/Waterman in Government Middle School, Shabanbass. According to the applicant, she was assured by the department that her services would be regularized in lieu of the land donated. However, before such regularization could be effected, she expired on 02.03.2009.
b) It is further pleaded that after the demise of his grandmother, the applicant was asked by the departmental authorities to apply for engagement in her place. On the basis of various recommendations made by the concerned officers, the applicant came to be engaged as Waterman/Sweeper vide Order No. 1349 HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 4 :: TA 191/2024 dated 31.03.2009 issued by the Zonal Education Officer, Banihal. Initially, he was paid a nominal honorarium of Rs. 30/-
per month, which was later enhanced to Rs. 150/- per month upon his representation. The applicant further states that, apart from performing duties as Waterman/Sweeper, he was also assigned additional work of Cook under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
c) The applicant asserts that he has been working continuously in the said school since his engagement and has completed more than seven years of service by the year 2016. Despite this, neither his services have been regularized nor has he been paid wages in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act. He claims that similarly situated persons engaged in other departments or under similar circumstances have been extended the benefit of regularization as well as minimum wages, whereas the applicant continues to receive meagre honorarium, rendering his engagement arbitrary and discriminatory.
d) It is further pleaded that the case of the applicant for regularization and payment of minimum wages was HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 5 :: TA 191/2024 recommended by the Headmaster of the school vide communication dated 01.09.2016, yet no concrete action followed. The applicant invokes the principle of promissory estoppel, contending that the land donation was made on the assurance of regular appointment to a family member, and the failure of the respondents to honour such assurance is illegal and unjust. On these premises, the applicant seeks directions for regularization of his services and payment of wages in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act.
4. The respondents have filed their reply statement wherein they have averred as follows: -
a) The respondents have contested the application in toto, raising preliminary as well as substantive objections. At the outset, it is submitted that no legal, constitutional, or statutory right of the applicant has been violated, and the application is misconceived, devoid of merit, and liable to be dismissed. It is contended that the applicant has no locus standi and no enforceable right to claim regularization or minimum wages, as HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 6 :: TA 191/2024 no cause of action has accrued against the answering respondents.
b) The respondents further submit that the present matter involves disputed questions of fact which cannot be adjudicated in exercise of writ jurisdiction. It is also alleged that the applicant has not approached the Tribunal with clean hands and has suppressed material facts, thereby disentitling himself to any discretionary relief.
c) On merits, it is admitted that the applicant's grandmother had donated a piece of land measuring 24 feet by 18 feet, i.e., approximately one and a half marlas, for construction of a Government Primary School building in the year 1985.
However, it is categorically denied that there existed any policy, promise, or assurance for regularization in lieu of such land donation. The applicant's grandmother was only temporarily assigned duties as a part-time waterman/sweeper, working for about 30 minutes to one hour per day, and was paid a nominal honorarium of Rs. 30/- per month as per the norms prevailing at that time.
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d) It is submitted that after the death of his grandmother in 2009, the applicant was assigned similar part-time duties. His engagement was not against any sanctioned post, nor was it made through a competent appointing authority. The respondents further clarify that the applicant has also been engaged as a part-time Cook under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and is paid Rs. 1000/- per month for the said work strictly as per the guidelines of the centrally sponsored scheme. Before such engagement, the applicant had furnished an affidavit undertaking that he would not claim regular appointment or absorption in the department.
e) The respondents deny that the applicant has been working continuously or on full-time basis. It is asserted that his duties as sweeper/waterman are limited to a short duration and are required only intermittently. The honorarium of Rs. 150/- per month for part-time sweeping duties and Rs. 1000/- per month for cooking duties is stated to be as per the prescribed norms, paid from school local funds, and not from any regular budgetary allocation.
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f) It is further submitted that the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act are not attracted, as the applicant does not work for the minimum prescribed hours per week. According to the respondents, entitlement to minimum wages arises only when an employee works for at least 42 hours per week, whereas the applicant works hardly three to five hours in a week.
g) Regarding regularization, it is pleaded that some part-time sweepers were regularized only if they were engaged prior to 2008 against proper orders issued by competent authorities. In the present case, the applicant's engagement was not backed by any valid appointment order issued by a Drawing and Disbursing Officer. Moreover, the land donated by the applicant's grandmother measures far less than the minimum one kanal required under the relevant Government policy for consideration of regular appointment in lieu of land donation.
h) The respondents deny the plea of promissory estoppel and assert that the land donation was voluntary, without any written agreement or assurance of regularization. They further submit that the applicant's case for regularization has been forwarded HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 9 :: TA 191/2024 to the Administrative Department only for consideration and no vested right accrues therefrom.
i) In view of the above submissions, the respondents maintain that the applicant is being paid honorarium strictly in accordance with rules and schemes applicable to part-time workers, and no illegality or arbitrariness can be attributed to the departmental action. The application, therefore, deserves dismissal.
5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
6. The applicant seeks regularization of his services or, in the alternative, payment of wages in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act. The controversy essentially revolves around two distinct but interconnected issues, namely, whether the applicant is entitled to regular appointment in lieu of land donation and, if not, whether he can be denied minimum wages despite continuing engagement.
7. From the admitted facts, it is evident that the applicant's grandmother donated land for construction of a Government school building. It is also not in dispute that she was thereafter engaged as a part-time sweeper/waterman and that upon her demise, the applicant was HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 10 :: TA 191/2024 engaged to perform similar duties. The record further reveals that the applicant has been continuously working in the institution since 2009, performing duties as sweeper/waterman and also as cook under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, though the respondents attempt to downplay the continuity and duration of such engagement.
8. So far as regular appointment is concerned, the respondents have taken a categorical stand that the land donated measures only one and a half marlas and does not fulfill the minimum requirement prescribed under the relevant Government policy, which contemplates donation of at least one kanal of land. The respondents have also pleaded that the applicant was never appointed against a sanctioned post nor through a competent appointing authority. The Tribunal finds that regularization or appointment in public service cannot be ordered de hors statutory rules or policy framework. Even where sympathy exists, courts and tribunals are bound by the constitutional scheme under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. In the absence of a sanctioned post, prescribed eligibility, and fulfillment of policy conditions, no mandamus can be issued for regular appointment HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 11 :: TA 191/2024 merely on equitable considerations. Consequently, the prayer for straightway appointment or regularization cannot be granted.
9. However, the matter does not end there.
10. The record unmistakably shows that the applicant has been engaged for more than a decade and continues to discharge duties for the respondent-department. It is not the case of the respondents that the applicant has stopped working or that his services are no longer required. In fact, even during pendency of the proceedings, the respondents have continued to take work from him and have themselves constituted a committee to examine his entitlement to wages. The Hon'ble High Court, in the earlier writ proceedings, had already directed that if the applicant is working, he shall be considered for payment of minimum wages. This direction was reiterated by this Tribunal, yet full compliance has not been achieved.
11. The defence of the respondents that the applicant works only for a few hours and is therefore not entitled to minimum wages is wholly unconvincing. Once the State chooses to engage a person and continuously extract work from him for years together, it cannot escape its statutory obligation by labeling the engagement as "part- HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 12 :: TA 191/2024 time" or by citing lack of funds. The Minimum Wages Act is a welfare legislation and its mandate cannot be diluted by administrative convenience. Exploitation of labour, even under the garb of part-time or honorary engagement, is impermissible in law.
12. The principle is well settled that if work is taken, wages must follow, and such wages must meet the statutory minimum. The State, being a model employer, is expected to act fairly, reasonably, and in conformity with law. Continued engagement of the applicant for years together on a meagre honorarium defeats the very object of social justice and violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
13. At the same time, this Tribunal is conscious of the fact that it cannot direct regular appointment contrary to rules. Therefore, a balanced and legally sustainable solution is required.
14. In view of the aforesaid discussion, the Transfer Application is disposed of with the following directions:
a) If a sanctioned Class-IV vacancy exists in the concerned school or within the same establishment cadre, and the applicant is otherwise eligible under the applicable rules and policy, the respondents shall consider his case for HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 13 :: TA 191/2024 appointment strictly in accordance with law, without granting any automatic or preferential regularization.
b) In the event such appointment is not legally permissible, the respondents shall pay the applicant wages strictly in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act applicable to the category of work performed by him, from the date he has been continuously working, and in any case not later than the date of the first High Court direction, and shall continue to pay minimum wages so long as work is taken from him.
c) Arrears of minimum wages, if any, shall be calculated and released within a period of 12 weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
d) The respondents are further directed that they shall not continue the applicant on a nominal honorarium while extracting work from him. Either lawful appointment must follow, or lawful wages must be paid.
e) It is clarified that this order does not confer any right of regularization beyond what is permissible under law, but it HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV :: 14 :: TA 191/2024 equally does not permit the respondents to take work without paying statutory wages.
15. No order as to costs.
(RAM MOHAN JOHRI) (RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA) Administrative Member Judicial Member /harshit/ HARSHIT Digitally by HARSHIT signed YADAV YADAV