- (1.) THIS Special Appeal has been filed against the judgment and order dated 11.5.2005 of a learned Judge of this Court in Writ Petition No. 12537 of2002.
(2.) THE petitioners/appellants were engaged as Compilers in the census operations carried out by the Census Department between 1.6.1991 and 31.12.1992 but they were discharged, vide retrenchment orders issued by the Census Department. The petition had been filed for a direction to the respondents to appoint/absorb the petitioners on the existing vacancies in the office of the respondents. The learned Judge after noticing that the State had not framed any Rules or issued any Government Order for absorption of such employees, came to the conclusion that in such situation no relief could be granted to the petitioners in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in Union of India and Ors. v. D.K. Saxena and Ors., (1995) 3 SCC 401. We have heard Sri B.P. Singh, learned Counsel for the appellants and Sri Jitendra Nath Shukla for Respondent No. 1 and the learned Standing Counsel for the remaining respondents.
(3.) IT is not in dispute that the petitioners/appellants had been working on contract basis as Compilers in the Regional Tabulation Office at Azamgarh under the Director of Census Operations w.e.f. 1.6.1991 to 31.12.1992 and were drawing Rs. 900/- as consolidate salary and that their services had been terminated w.e.f 31.12.1991 on account of winding up of Regional Tabulation Office. The claim of the petitioners/appellants is that they should be appointed/absorbed on the existing vacancies in some other office of the respondents. The issue was considered by the Supreme Court in Union of India v. B. K. Saxena (supra) in which similarly situated employees engaged in U.P. in 1990-91 census, had made a prayer for absorption in the available vacancies in the State Government Departments. The Supreme Court observed that such employees who had been engaged on a contract basis for a limited and fixed duration and on a fixed pay cannot be directed to be absorbed in any other department of the Government but suitable rules could be made and conditions laid down for appointment in regular vacancies which may arise in the Directorate of Census Operations by relaxing age bar, if any, for such appointments. The relevant portion of the judgment is quoted below : "...........Here also the respondents had been temporarily employed to handle work which was of a limited duration. It was not possible, therefore, to direct the framing of any scheme for their being regularized in the Census Department since there was not enough work of a permanent nature to keep these extra employees busy throughout. We also do not see how these employees, who had been engaged on a contract basis for a limited and fixed duration and on a fixed pay, could be directed to be absorbed in any other department of the Government. ..............Suitable rules may be made and conditions laid down in this connection by the appellants. The appellants and/or that Staff Selection Commission may also consider giving weight age to the previous service rendered by such employees in the Census Department and their past service record in the Census Department for the purpose of their selection to the regular posts. It is directed accordingly." ;