Arijit Pasayat, J. - (1.) LEAVE granted.
(2.) CHALLENGE in this appeal is to the order passed by a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur in Writ Petition No. 1974 of 1998. Appellants had challenged the composite order dated 13.11.1997 passed in OA No. 691 of 1995 and O.A. No.89 of 1996 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur Bench, at Jabalpur (in short the 'CAT'). The respondents moved the CAT under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals' Act, 1985 (in short the 'Act') seeking regularization of their services. Stand of the respondents before the CAT was that they have been performing their duties as Data Entry Operators on contract basis and were being paid at a rate of Rs.10 per hour up to the maximum of Rs.50 per day. Since they have been working since a long period they sought for regularization placing reliance on the factum of long rendition of service. In response, present appellants contended that the respondents were not departmental employees and their grievances cannot be agitated before the CAT. Placing reliance on some other decisions by the CAT, the stand of the present appellants was turned down and direction was given for considering the cases of appointment on regular basis.
(3.) A writ petition was filed before the High Court, which was dismissed by the impugned order. In support of the appeal learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the decision of the High Court is contrary to law as laid down by the Constitution Bench of this Court in Secretary, State of Karnataka and Others v. Uma Devi and Others [2006 (4) SCC 1]. Learned counsel for the respondents on the other hand submitted that since the CAT had relied on an earlier judgment, High Court rightly did not find any distinguishable feature, and the appeal, therefore, deserves to be dismissed.;