Andhra Pradesh High Court Upholds Regularization of Daily Wage Employee’s Service

Court Affirms Eligibility for Regularization Despite Service Breaks, Citing Continuous Employment Evidence

In a significant judgment, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed the writ appeal filed by the State of Andhra Pradesh and others, thereby upholding the regularization of service for A Sampath Kumar, who was working as a Technical Maistry on a daily wage basis. The division bench, comprising Justices Battu Devanand and A. Hari Haranadha Sarma, ruled in favor of Kumar, affirming the order of the learned Single Judge, which directed the regularization of his service under G.O.Ms.No.212, dated 22.04.1994.

The case revolves around the eligibility criteria for service regularization of daily wage employees, as specified in the government order. Kumar, who commenced his service on 09.08.1988, had completed more than five years of continuous service by the cut-off date of 25.11.1993, despite having breaks in his service period. The learned Single Judge had previously recognized this continuous service based on attested certificates and official records, which were undisputed by the respondents.

The respondents, representing the state, contended that Kumar did not meet the required conditions as per the government order, primarily arguing that his service was not continuous from the required date. However, the court found that the certificates issued by the departmental officers, attested by Divisional Forest Officers, were genuine and adequately demonstrated his continuous employment.

In the final judgment, the division bench concluded that the petitioner was indeed entitled to have his service regularized, as he fulfilled the necessary conditions outlined in G.O.Ms.No.212. This decision underscores the importance of documented evidence in establishing continuous service and provides a precedent for similar cases involving the regularization of daily wage workers.

Bottom Line:

Regularization of service - Employee working on daily wage basis for a continuous period exceeding five years as on the cut-off date mentioned in G.O.Ms.No.212, dated 22.04.1994, entitled to regularization of service despite breaks in service, provided continuous service is established.

Statutory provision(s): G.O.Ms.No.212, Finance (FW PC-III) Department, dated 22.04.1994

State of AP v. A Sampath Kumar, (Andhra Pradesh)(DB) : Law Finder Doc Id # 2800499