Bhubaneswar: Expressing disappointment over the state government agencies suspending the appointment of 105 regular employees at the state Printing, Stationery & Publication department and downgrading them to the status of casual workers, the Orissa High Court has ruled that the authorities cannot act like the East India Company of the bygone era and that they must learn to treat citizens with dignity, not as slaves.
The unsavoury episode of bureaucratic high-handedness dates back to 1994. The Director of Printing, Stationery & Publication at Cuttack, being the appointing authority, had engaged 105 persons as casual labourers after conducting interviews and verifying their eligibility and qualifications during 1992–93. They were later regularised in 1994 as per the then Director’s order.
However, their joy was short-lived. Before the ink on the orders had dried, another set of “strange” orders was issued, suspending the regularisation. Eventually, their status was reverted to that of casual labourers. Aggrieved, the employees approached the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), which kept the impugned order in abeyance.
However, the SAT did not dispose of the case conclusively. The litigation was later transferred to the High Court after the government abolished the SAT in 2019. “The Director had not followed the principles of natural justice, which are considered a part of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
The Tribunal also failed in this regard, which constitutes a second error apparent on the face of the impugned judgment, warranting our interference to set aside the injustice caused to the petitioners,” the division bench of Justice Krishna Shripad Dixit and Justice Chittaranjan Dash stated in its judgment. “Neither the stand of the government nor the impugned order of the Tribunal reflects this. Therefore, they need to be quashed with costs, so that officials wake up from the slumber of their colonial mindset and learn to treat citizens with dignity, not as slaves,” the bench noted.
Of the 105 persons initially engaged as casual labourers, 57 have retired upon attaining the age of superannuation, 21 have passed away, and one has been removed from service. At present, 26 persons remain in service. All of them are to be granted the benefits of the 1994 regularisation orders, along with consequential financial benefits.
These benefits must also be extended to the retired employees or the legal heirs of the deceased. With respect to those who have retired or passed away, the government and the Director have been directed to identify their legal heirs and transfer the financial benefits to their bank accounts within three months, and to report compliance to the Registrar General of the Court.
Any default or delay will attract interest at the rate of 1 per cent for the first month and 2 per cent for each subsequent month, recoverable from the erring government officials, the bench concluded.