Madhya Pradesh High Court
Virendra Singh Kapoor vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 17 April, 2018
1
THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
Writ Petition Nos.7837/2017, 7848/2017, 7995/2017,
8564/2017, 8567/2017, 8669/2017, 9298/2017, 10433/2017,
10901/2017, 13085/2017, 20684/2017,
23562/2017, 2271/2018, 7209/2018 and 7297/2018.
Jabalpur, Dated 17.04.2018
Parties through their counsel.
As the similar issue is involved in this bunch of writ
petitions, therefore, they are heard analogously and decided by
this common order.
Petitioners have filed the present petition being aggrieved
by order issued by the respondent-department retiring them after
completion of 60 years of age.
According to the petitioners they all are daily rated employees working against various posts equivalent to Class-IV posts and that they all are being paid wages of daily rated employees irrespective of their designation, therefore, they are entitled to work up to the age of 62 years.
While issuing notice in the writ petitions, this Court has stayed the order of retirement and directed to maintain status quo in respect of their service conditions.
After notice, respondents have filed the return by submitting that the petitioners have rightly been retired in the light of order dated 3.5.2017 as the GAD has directed all the Head of the Departments to retire the daily rated employees who are working equivalent to the post of regular Class-III and Class- IV employees at the age of 60 and 62 years, respectively, as the case may be.
2Undisputedly, all the petitioners were appointed as Class- IV employees in the Water Resources Department. Respondents are taking work from them against different regular posts but they are being paid wages as per Collector rate, revised from time to time.
The petitioners are working on various posts which are Class-IV posts under the work charged contingency paid establishment. Services of the petitioner are governed under the provisions of e/;izns'k nSfud osru Hkksxh deZpkjh ¼lsok dh 'krsZ½ fu;e 2013- A Division Bench of this Court in the case of Ramji Prajapati vs. The State of M.P. (W.A.No.308/2016 decided on 3rd April, 2017) has held :
"It thus appears that though the appellant has been given the title of Supervisor but he is being paid less than the wages payable to daily wager. Merely because he has been given title of Supervisor will not make him Supervisor as he is getting salary less than that of a daily wager. Since the appellant is working on a post which is equivalent to Class-IV, therefore, the age of superannuation of appellant would be 62 years in terms of Rule 6 of the Rules of M.P. Daily Wager Employees (Condition of Service) Rules, 2013."
The State Government has come up with policy dated 7.10.2016 in which all the daily rated employees have been directed to be classified as permanent employees and paid the minimum pay-scale under different cadres i.e. unskilled, semi- skilled and skilled. By the said circular the State Government has withdrawn the M.P. Daily Wage Employee (Conditions of Service) Rules, 2013 and treated all the daily wagers as 'workmen' under the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1963.
3Even otherwise, vide notification dated 31.03.2018, the State Government has amended the e/; izns'k 'kkldh; lsod ¼vf/kokf"kZdh&vk;q½ vf/kfu;e] 1967 has substituted the word "62 years" in place of "60 years". The said notification has been given effect with effect from 31.03.2018 and retirement age of the Class-I to Class-III employees has been enhanced from 60 to 62 years.
Though the aforesaid notification is having prospective effect but in the present case, the petitioners are continuing into services by virtue of interim order passed by this Court. They are going to complete two years of service, after attaining the age of 62 years, hence, keeping in view the aforesaid facts and circumstances in totality, the impugned orders are hereby set- aside and the petitioners are held to be entitled to work up to the age of 62 years.
The petitions are allowed in above terms. All pending interlocutory application stands disposed of. Let a copy of this order be kept in the record of the connected writ petitions.
(Vivek Rusia) Judge Digitally signed by ANAND KRISHNA SEN Date: 2018.04.24 18:54:28 +05'30'