HC directs TN to regularise mazdoors who completed 10 yrs of service

CHENNAI: A Division Bench of Madras High Court has ordered the State government to regularise the service of six Nagercoil-based casual basis Mazdoors of Public Works Department (PWD) on the ground that they have completed ten years of service.

The bench comprising Justice Paresh Upadhyay and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the direction on allowing a writ appeal preferred by temporary mazdoors S Vettyvel Kumar, P Krishnan, Y Mahesh, S Vedananth, G Richard Dhas and T Jeba Daya.

The petitioners prayed for a direction to set aside an order of a single judge turning down their plea for regularising their services.

The petitioners submitted that the public works department engaged them in services from 1996, 1997, 1998 and they have completed 24 to 26 years of service. “As per a GO passed in February 28, 2006, daily wage work workers who completed ten years of service can be regularized, ” the petitioners submitted through their advocate.

The State submitted that the scheme is not applicable to the petitioners. However, the division stated that the petitioners did not work as against the sanctioned posts, and it was not a relevant consideration.

“The ground on which the writ petition was rejected is the finding of fact that the writ petitioners were working only from the year 2008-2010 onwards which is factually incorrect,” the judges held.

“The respondents are directed to regularize the services of the writ petitioners as Mazdoor Grade I and Grade II with effect from the date of their completion of ten years of service with all consequential benefits, ” the bench ordered.