Sunil Ambwani, J. - (1.) THIS batch of Special Appeals filed by the State of Rajasthan and Municipal Council, Bhilwara arises out of a judgment of learned Single Judge dated 11th March, 2014, by which the writ petitions were allowed with directions to regularize the services of the respondents, who were petitioners in the writ petitions, within a period of three months and upon such regularization, the petitioners -respondents were made entitled to the grant of pay scale and other benefits, which are available to the regularly appointed persons with effect from the date of their regularization. Learned Single Judge has further directed that the past services of the petitioners -respondents right from the date of their initial appointment and notional period of their break in service during the illegal retrenchment/termination should be taken as continuous period for computing the period of qualifying services for the pension purposes and other retiral benefits, otherwise after their retirement, the petitioners -respondents will not stand to gain anything on account of their fruitful litigation before the Labour Court earlier and now.
(2.) IT is submitted by learned counsels appearing for the appellants -State of Rajasthan and Municipal Council, Bhilwara that the respondents -petitioners were appointed as Firemen, Wiremen and Drivers, which are Class -IV posts in the Municipal Council, Bhilwara in the exigencies of service, on daily wages. They were appointed between 1990 -1999. The services of all of them were dispensed with by a common order passed in the year 1999. All of them had challenged the termination of their services in the Labour Court. The Labour Court, Bhilwara adjudicated on the reference made by the State Government under section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and in pursuance of the directions issued by the High Court in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 1535/1999. The reference required the Labour Court to adjudicate as to whether the termination of services of the workmen on 5.8.1999 (in case of Shri Zahiruddin, Driver) on a demand made by them to the Commissioner, Municipal Council, Bhilwara for regularization of their services, was valid and legal and if not, to what reliefs and compensation, the workmen are entitled to receive. The Labour Court vide Awards of common nature dated 9.9.2004 adjudicated the dispute and held that the act of the Commissioner, Municipal Council, Bhilwara in refusing to regularize the services of the workman with effect from the date of his appointment cannot be said to be improper or illegal, but the orders relieving the workman from service with effect from 5.8.1999 and in not paying him minimum wages of the post, were not proper and legal and thus, the workman was entitled to be reinstated in service with effect from 5.8.1999 and that his services shall be treated to be continuous. The Labour Court further directed that the workman will be entitled to receive from the date of his appointment upto 4.8.1999, the difference of the pay between the minimum wages of the post, which will be paid to him and from 5.8.1999 till reinstatement, he was entitled to receive 20% of the minimum wages from the Municipal Council.
(3.) THE writ petitions filed by the Municipal Council, Bhilwara against the Award of the Labour Court were dismissed on 9.5.2008. The Division Bench dismissed the Special Appeals against the judgment of learned Single Judge on 1.12.2009 and in this manner, the Award became final. In pursuance of the Award, after the dismissal of the writ petitions by learned Single Judge and thereafter, Special Appeals by the Division Bench, all the beneficiaries under the Award were given appointment on 24.12.2009 by the Municipal Council, Bhilwara on muster -roll, and since thereafter they are working as muster -roll employees.;