Central Administrative Tribunal - Jammu
Sanjay Kumar vs Education on 12 March, 2026
:: 1 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025
& CP/207/2025
CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
JAMMU BENCH, JAMMU (RESERVED)
Hearing through video conferencing
Transfer Application No. 187/2024 & 237/2024
Along With
Original Application No. 404/2025
& Contempt Petition N0. 207/2025
Reserved on: - 08.09.2025
Pronounced on: -12.03.2026
HON'BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAM MOHAN JOHRI, MEMBER (A)
1. TA/187/2024
1. Sanjay Kumar aged 39 years S/o Late Sh. Isher Dass R/o Village
Mahanpur Tehsil Basohli district Kathua
...Applicant
(Advocate: - Mr. Karan Sharma)
Versus
1. Smt. Nirmal Sharma Secretary School Education Department
JGK
2. H.R. Pakhroo Director School Education Jammu
3. T.R. Mangotra Chief Education Officer Kathua
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 2 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025
& CP/207/2025
4. Karam Chand Zonal Education Officer Mahanpur
...Respondents
(Advocate:- Mr. Sudesh Magotra, Ld. AAG)
2. TA/237/2024
1. Sanjay Kumar age 39 years. S/o Late Sh. Ishar Dass R/o Village
Mahanpur, Tehsil Basoli, District Kathua.
...Applicant
(Advocate: - Mr. Karan Sharma)
Versus
1. State of J&K through Secretary to Govt., Education Department,
J&K, Civil Secretariat, J&K, Srinagar,
2. Director School Education, Jammu.
3. Chief Education Officer, Kathua.
4. Zonal Education Officer, Mahanpur, (B. Mahanpur).
5. Headmaster, Government Model Middle School, Mahanpur, (B.
Mahanpur)
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 3 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025
& CP/207/2025
...Respondents
(Advocate:- Mr. Sudesh Magotra, Ld. AAG)
3. OA/404/2025
Sanjay Kumar, Age 51 years,S/o Lt. Sh. Isher Dass, R/o
Village & Tehsil Mahanpur,District Kathua 184202
...Applicant
(Advocate: - Mr. Karan Sharma)
Versus
1. Union Territory of J&K,Through Commissioner/Secretary to Govt.,
General Administration Department, Civil Secretariat,
Jammu.180001
2. Commissioner/Secretary Finance Department, Civil Secretariat,
Jammu. 180001
3. Commissioner/Secretary Education Department, Civil Secretariat,
Jammu. 180001
4. Director School Education, Jammu. 181205
5. Chief Education Officer, Kathua. 18410l
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 4 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025
& CP/207/2025
6. Zonal Education Officer, Mahnpur. 184202
7. HeadMaster, Government Model Middle School, Mahanpur
(B.Mahanpur).184202
...Respondent
(Advocate:- Mr. Sudesh Magotra, Ld. AAG)
4. CP/207/2025
1. Sanjay Kumar, Age 51 years,S/o Lt.Sh.Isher Dass, R/o Village &
Tehsil Mahanpur,District Kathua-184202
...Applicant
(Advocate: - Mr. Karan Sharma)
Versus
1. Dr. Naseem Javaid Chowdhary, Director School .
Education,Jammu-181205.
2. Mangat Ram,Chief Education Officer,Kathua-184101.
3. Tilak Raj Andotra ZEO Mahanpur-184202.
4. Shams Din, HeadMaster, Government Model Middle
School,Mahanpur (B.Mahanpur)-184202.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 5 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025
& CP/207/2025
...Respondents
(Advocate:- Mr. Sudesh Magotra, Ld. AAG)
HARSHIT Digitally signed by
YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 6 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025
& CP/207/2025
ORDER
Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member
1. The SWPs were transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No. 187/2024 & 237/2024 respectively and OA/404/2025 and CP/207/2025 by the Registry of this Tribunal.
2. The present matter was filed before the Hon'ble High Court seeking following relief: -
1. TA/184/2024
a) "It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that in view of the submissions made hereinabove and those to be urged at the time of the hearing this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to initiate contempt proceedings against the above named respondents/contemnors for not implementing the orders passed by this Hon'ble Court in the interest of justice.
2. TA/237/2024 HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 7 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 a. Writ of mandamus:directing the respondents to regularize the petitioner as regular employee in Class IV cadre from the date of his appointment / engagement i.e. 28.10.1998 as Waterman cum Sweeper in Govt. Model Middle School, Mahanpur.
b. Writ of Mandamus: directing the respondents to pay the petitioner the arrears of pay to which he was entitled to be paid from the date of his appointment /engagement i.e. 28.10.1998 as the petitioner has been working continuously in the office of respondent no.4 for the last more than fifteen years on a very meager amount. Further c. Writ of Mandamus: directing the respondents to prepare the service book of petitioner and other formalities which will entitled him for the payment of all the retiral benefits, which an employee of his cadre is entitled to get in the education department.
And d. Any other writ, order or direction which this Hon'ble Court may deem just and proper may very kindly be issued in the circumstances of the case.
3. OA/404/2025 a. allow the instant Original Application; b. quash the impugned order no. ZEO/MP/1687-91 dated 31- 12- 2024 passed by the respondents which has been passed by the respondents during the pendency of T.A./187/2024 and T.A.237/2024, which further amounts to criminal contempt on the part of the respondents;
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 8 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 c. Commanding and directing the respondents no. 3 to 6 to pay/release wages in favour of the applicant, along with interest, which has been illegitimately withheld due to mala- fide on the part of the respondents of the year 2020, 2024 and from January 2025 till date and regularly thereafter; d. Commanding and directing the concerned respondents to regularize the services of the applicant w.e.f. 28-10-1998 or in the alternative w.e.f 30-07-2015, as the services of the similarly situated who are much juniors to the applicant were regularized in terms of SRO 308-2008 dated 16-10- 2008 in the month of July, 2015 and accordingly fix the seniority of the applicant and further to grant all consequential benefits to the applicant along with monetary benefits along with interest;
e. Commanding and directing the respondents to produce the entire service record as well as entire attendance record of the applicant f. Quashing the communication dated 24-08-2011 issued by concerned respondent to the extent the same prescribes the maximum age for the regularization of contingent /local fund paid employees;
g. To initiate criminal contempt proceedings against the erring respondents;
h. ANY other order or direction which this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit or proper as per the facts and circumstances of the case.
3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 9 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025
b) The applicant, Sanjay Kumar, claims that he was engaged on 28.10.1998 as a Waterman-cum-Sweeper in Government Model Middle School, Mahanpur, District Kathua. According to him, he joined duties on the same day and started performing his work in the school. The applicant states that from the date of his engagement he has been continuously working in the said school and marking his attendance in the attendance register along with other employees. He relies upon certificates issued by the Headmaster of the school and the Sarpanch of the Panchayat Halqa, as well as entries in the attendance register, to show that he joined duties on the said date and continued to discharge his responsibilities thereafter.
c) The applicant further asserts that despite performing duties regularly for several years, he was not paid proper wages and was allegedly paid only Rs. 500 per year from the School Improvement Fund. According to him, this payment was grossly inadequate and contrary to the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, as it worked out to a negligible amount HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 10 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 per month. He claims that even though he was performing duties similar to other Class-IV employees, the respondents did not treat him as a regular employee nor paid him wages applicable to such employees.
d) Feeling aggrieved, the applicant approached the authorities several times requesting release of proper wages and regularization of his services. He contends that the authorities even called for certain records relating to his service for the purpose of considering regularization, but no final decision was taken in the matter. According to him, other similarly placed employees in different departments had been regularized, whereas his case was ignored despite his long service.
e) The applicant thereafter filed SWP No. 1791/2013 before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir seeking regularization of his services and other consequential benefits. During the pendency of the writ petition, the Hon'ble High Court passed an interim order dated 02.09.2013, directing the respondents to consider payment of wages to the applicant in HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 11 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 terms of the Minimum Wages Act. The applicant alleges that despite service of the said order upon the respondents, the directions of the Court were not properly implemented.
f) Subsequently, alleging non-compliance of the order dated 02.09.2013, the applicant filed a contempt petition before the Hon'ble High Court. In the proceedings of the contempt petition, the Court also directed the authorities to produce records regarding contingent paid workers/local fund paid workers whose services had been considered for regularization under SRO-308 of 2008. The applicant contends that several workers engaged much later than him were regularized under the said scheme while his case was ignored.
g) The applicant further alleges that during the pendency of the litigation he was repeatedly pressurized by the authorities to withdraw the case and at times he was not allowed to perform his duties in the school. He also claims that certain service records relating to him were either not maintained properly or HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 12 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 were not produced by the respondents despite directions of the Court.
h) During the course of proceedings, the Hon'ble High Court passed further directions requiring the respondents to release minimum wages in favour of the applicant and to examine his case in accordance with law. Thereafter, the matters pending before the High Court, including the writ petition and contempt proceedings, were transferred to the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jammu Bench, where they came to be registered as T.A. No. 187/2024 and T.A. No. 237/2024.
i) While the said matters were pending before the Tribunal, the respondents issued order dated 31.12.2024, disengaging the services of the applicant with immediate effect. Aggrieved by this order, the applicant filed O.A. No. 404/2025 before the Tribunal seeking quashing of the disengagement order, release of wages which according to him had been withheld for certain periods, and regularization of his services either from the date of initial engagement i.e. 28.10.1998 or at least from the date HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 13 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 when similarly situated employees were regularized under SRO-308 of 2008.
j) The applicant has further alleged that the issuance of the disengagement order during the pendency of the litigation amounts to interference with the administration of justice and is contrary to the directions earlier passed by the Hon'ble High Court and the Tribunal. On these grounds, the applicant has also sought initiation of contempt proceedings against the concerned officials and grant of consequential service benefits including preparation of service records and payment of arrears.
4. The respondents have filed their reply statement wherein they have averred as follows: -
a) The respondents have filed objections denying the claims of the applicant. They submit that the applicant was never formally appointed or engaged by any competent authority as a regular or whole-time employee in the Education Department.
According to the respondents, the applicant has merely been HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 14 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 working as a part-time waterman-cum-sweeper, performing duties for a short duration of about one hour daily in the school.
b) The respondents state that such part-time workers are sometimes engaged locally by school authorities to meet minor requirements of the institution and are paid a small honorarium out of the School Improvement Fund or other contingent funds. These workers do not hold any sanctioned posts in the establishment of the Education Department and are not treated as regular employees. The respondents further submit that the applicant was being paid an amount of Rs. 500 per year from the School Improvement Fund for performing limited duties and that such payment was in accordance with the practice followed for similar contingent workers in schools.
c) It is further stated by the respondents that the applicant has failed to produce any engagement order issued by the competent authority showing that he was formally appointed as Waterman-cum-Sweeper. In fact, the Headmaster of the school had asked the applicant through official communication to HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 15 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 produce the original engagement order, but the applicant did not submit any such document. According to the respondents, in the absence of any valid appointment order the claim of the applicant for regularization or payment of salary as a regular employee cannot be accepted.
d) The respondents also contend that the Hon'ble High Court, by its interim order dated 02.09.2013, had only directed the authorities to consider payment of wages in terms of the Minimum Wages Act. In compliance with the said direction, the authorities examined the matter and passed a speaking order dated 27.11.2014, whereby the claim of the applicant was rejected after considering the relevant facts.
e) It is further submitted that the criteria for regularization of contingent paid workers under SRO-308 of 2008 required, among other things, production of a valid engagement order issued by the competent authority, proof of first payment received, proof of age and qualification, and continuity of payments in the cash book. According to the respondents, the HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 16 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 applicant failed to satisfy these essential conditions and therefore his case could not be considered for regularization under the said scheme.
f) The respondents also deny the allegation of willful disobedience of court orders. They state that the authorities have always held the orders of the Hon'ble Court and the Tribunal in high regard and have taken steps for compliance from time to time. It is further submitted that pursuant to the directions of the Court, the wages payable to the applicant were calculated and an amount of Rs. 7,02,210/- was eventually credited to the applicant's bank account as arrears of wages.
g) The respondents maintain that there has been no deliberate violation of any court order and that the authorities have acted in accordance with law and administrative procedures. They therefore submit that the claims made by the applicant are misconceived and the petitions filed by him deserve dismissal.
5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 17 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025
6. The present matters arise out of the long standing grievance of the applicant who claims to have been engaged as Waterman-cum- Sweeper in Government Model Middle School, Mahanpur, District Kathua on 28.10.1998 and who has been continuously performing duties in the said institution for a long period of time without being granted the status and benefits of a regular Class-IV employee. The writ petitions originally filed before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir came to be transferred to this Tribunal and registered as T.A. No. 187/2024 and T.A. No. 237/2024. During the pendency of those proceedings the applicant also filed O.A. No. 404/2025 challenging the order dated 31.12.2024 whereby his services were disengaged. A Contempt Petition No. 207/2025 was also filed alleging non-compliance of the directions issued by this Tribunal in OA No. 404/2025.
7. The brief facts of the case are that the applicant asserts that he was engaged on 28.10.1998 as Waterman-cum-Sweeper in Government Model Middle School, Mahanpur. He joined duties on the same day and has continued to perform his duties since then. According to the HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 18 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 applicant, he has been marking his attendance in the attendance register of the school along with other employees and has been discharging his duties regularly to the satisfaction of the authorities. However, despite rendering services for a long period of time he was not paid proper wages and was allegedly paid only Rs. 500 per year from the School Improvement Fund. The applicant contends that this payment was highly inadequate and contrary to the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, particularly when he was performing duties similar to other Class-IV employees in the institution.
8. The applicant states that he repeatedly approached the authorities requesting payment of proper wages and regularization of his services but no action was taken. He therefore approached the Hon'ble High Court by filing SWP No. 1791/2013 seeking regularization of his services and other consequential reliefs. During the pendency of the writ petition, the Hon'ble High Court passed an interim order dated 02.09.2013 directing the respondents to consider payment of wages to the applicant as envisaged under the Minimum Wages Act.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV
:: 19 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025
9. The applicant alleges that despite the directions of the Hon'ble High Court, the respondents did not properly implement the order which compelled him to file contempt proceedings. During the course of those proceedings the Hon'ble High Court also directed the respondents to produce the list of contingent paid workers or local fund paid workers who had been considered for regularization under SRO-308 of 2008. The applicant asserts that several workers engaged after him were regularized while his case was ignored.
10. Subsequently, the matters pending before the Hon'ble High Court were transferred to this Tribunal where they were registered as T.A. No. 187/2024 and T.A. No. 237/2024. During the pendency of these matters the respondents issued an order dated 31.12.2024 disengaging the applicant from service, which led to the filing of O.A. No. 404/2025 challenging the said order and seeking regularization as well as release of wages.
11. The respondents have filed their objections and have denied the claim of the applicant. According to them, the applicant was never formally appointed by any competent authority and was merely working as a HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 20 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 part-time waterman-cum-sweeper for about one hour daily, for which he was being paid Rs.500 annually out of the School Improvement Fund. The respondents contend that the applicant does not possess any valid engagement order and therefore cannot claim regularization or salary as a regular employee. They further submit that the engagement of such contingent workers does not create any right to claim regular appointment.
12. From the record it is not in dispute that the applicant has been working in the school since 1998 and his presence and work in the institution has been acknowledged by the authorities themselves. Even the respondents admit that he has been performing duties as waterman-cum-sweeper though according to them only on a part-time basis. It is also evident that the applicant has continued to work for more than two decades, which clearly demonstrates that the services rendered by him were required by the institution on a continuous basis.
13. The record further shows that the Hon'ble High Court had already taken serious note of the fact that the applicant was being paid a HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 21 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 meagre amount of Rs.500 per year despite working since 1998 and had directed the authorities to release minimum wages in terms of the Minimum Wages Act. It has also been brought on record that during the proceedings before the Tribunal the respondents calculated the wages payable to the applicant and ultimately released an amount of about Rs.7,02,210/- in his favour towards arrears of wages.
14. The facts of the present case clearly reveal that the applicant has been rendering services to the department for an exceptionally long period of time. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in State of Karnataka vs. Uma Devi (2006) 4 SCC 1 held that irregular appointments cannot ordinarily be regularized but at the same time recognized that cases of long and continuous service rendered by workers engaged for several years may require equitable consideration by the State. Similarly, in Narendra Kumar Tiwari vs. State of Jharkhand (2018) 8 SCC 238, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that employees who have rendered long service and whose engagement has continued for years should not be arbitrarily denied regularization when the work performed by them is of permanent nature.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 22 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025
15. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Daily Rated Casual Labour vs. Union of India (1988) 1 SCC 122 also observed that the State cannot take advantage of the helplessness of workers by extracting work from them for years together without granting them fair wages or proper service benefits. Likewise, in People's Union for Democratic Rights vs. Union of India (1982) 3 SCC 235, the Court held that payment of wages below the minimum wages prescribed by law amounts to forced labour prohibited under Article 23 of the Constitution.
16. In the present case the applicant has admittedly worked for more than twenty-five years in the school. Even if the initial engagement was not made strictly in accordance with the statutory rules, the fact remains that the department continued to take work from the applicant for decades. After extracting such long service, the respondents cannot be permitted to disengage the applicant abruptly and deny him the benefits available to similarly situated employees.
17. It is also significant that during the pendency of the litigation the respondents issued the impugned order dated 31.12.2024 disengaging the applicant from service. The issuance of such order when the HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 23 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025 matter relating to the applicant's service status was already pending before the Court cannot be appreciated. The action of the respondents appears to have been taken in undue haste and cannot be sustained in law.
18. Taking into consideration the entire factual matrix of the case, particularly the long continuous service of the applicant since 1998, the directions already issued by the Hon'ble High Court regarding payment of minimum wages and the admitted fact that the applicant has been working in the institution for decades, this Tribunal is of the considered view that the applicant deserves equitable relief.
19. Accordingly, we deem it appropriate to issue the following directions:
-
a) The impugned order dated 31.12.2024 disengaging the applicant from service is hereby quashed and set aside.
b) The respondents are directed to reinstate the applicant forthwith and allow him to continue in service as Waterman-cum-Sweeper or against an equivalent Class-IV post in the concerned institution.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 24 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025
c) The respondents shall further regularize the applicant in terms of the applicable policy including SRO-308 of 2008 or any subsequent policy governing regularization of contingent workers, keeping in view the fact that the applicant has been working since 1998. Such exercise shall be completed within a period of three months from the date of receipt of this order.
d) The applicant shall also be entitled to minimum wages as prescribed under law for the period he has actually worked, after adjusting the amount already paid to him by the respondents.
e) Since the directions issued by the Hon'ble High Court and this Tribunal regarding payment of wages have now substantially been complied with and the amount due has already been credited to the account of the applicant, no further action is required in the Contempt Petition No. 207/2025.
f) Accordingly, CP No. 207/2025 is closed and the notices issued therein are discharged.
HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV :: 25 ::TA 187/2024 & 237/2024 & OA/404/2025 & CP/207/2025
20. In view of the above discussion, T.A. No. 187/2024, T.A. No. 237/2024 and O.A. No. 404/2025 are allowed in the above terms.
21. No order as to costs.
(RAM MOHAN JOHRI) (RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA) Administrative Member Judicial Member /harshit/ HARSHIT Digitally signed by YADAV HARSHIT YADAV