Case Note & Summary
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal by Appellants, directing their regularization in the Income Tax Department. The appellants had been working as Sweepers and a Cook since the 1990s and sought regularization after their representations were rejected. The Central Administrative Tribunal and High Court denied relief based on the Umadevi (3) judgment, which requires ten years of continuous service as on 10.04.2006 for regularization. However, the Supreme Court found that similarly situated workers, including those in the Ravi Verma case, had been regularized earlier, leading to discriminatory treatment. The Court held that the appellants' engagement was irregular and the work was perennial, as evidenced by outsourcing attempts. It directed regularization from 01.07.2006 with all consequential benefits, setting aside the lower courts' decisions.
Headnote
The Supreme Court, allowed the appeal filed by Appellants. against Union of India & Ors. -- The appellants, casual workers engaged as Sweepers and a Cook in the Office of the Commissioner of Income Tax, Gwalior, sought regularization of their services -- They had been working since 1993-1998 and were registered with the Employment Exchange -- The Central Administrative Tribunal and the High Court denied relief, citing failure to meet the ten-year service criterion as on 10.04.2006 under Umadevi (3) -- The Supreme Court held that the appellants were similarly situated to workers in Ravi Verma and Ors. Vs. Union of India and Ors., whose services were regularized by the Court -- The Court found discriminatory treatment as similarly placed employees had been regularized since 2006 -- It directed regularization of the appellants' services from 01.07.2006 with consequential benefits, overriding the strict application of Umadevi (3) criteria in light of equity and precedent -- The judgment emphasizes that engagement was irregular, not illegal, and work was perennial, as indicated by outsourcing attempts
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Issue of Consideration: The Issue of Consideration was whether the appellants, who were casual workers in the Income Tax Department, were entitled to regularization of their services despite not meeting the ten-year service criterion as per Umadevi (3) judgment, given that similarly situated workers had been regularized earlier
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Final Decision
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, directed regularization of the appellants' services from 01.07.2006 with consequential benefits, and set aside the judgments of the Central Administrative Tribunal and High Court
