Srinagar, Nov 1, KNT: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Srinagar Bench has directed the Jammu and Kashmir Education Department to retrospectively regularize a long-serving contingent worker as a Class-IV employee with effect from October 16, 2008, under SRO 308 of 2008, while also ordering the counting of 50 percent of his contingent service towards qualifying pension benefits.
The order was pronounced by Mr. D.S. Mahra (Member–Judicial) in O.A. No. 1775/2021 filed by Mohammad Amin Baba, a resident of Barzulla Panzigam, Bandipora. The applicant was represented by Advocate B.A. Tak.
According to the tribunal’s findings, the applicant had been engaged on a contingent basis as early as July 5, 1992, and continued to serve continuously and satisfactorily for nearly three decades. Despite fulfilling all criteria under SRO 308, his regularization was delayed until September 4, 2020, depriving him of lawful monetary and service benefits.
The tribunal noted that the delay in extending regularization was entirely administrative and not attributable to the applicant. It observed that once SRO 308 was notified on October 16, 2008, the respondents were legally bound to consider all eligible contingent-paid employees for regularization from that date.
Referring to a previous judgment in Zerifa Begum’s case, the tribunal, as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust reiterated that a contingent-paid or work-charged employee subsequently brought on regular establishment is entitled to count 50 percent of such service towards qualifying service for pension and that regularization should take effect from the date of eligibility under the applicable SRO.
Allowing the application, the tribunal directed the respondents to treat the applicant as deemed regularized from October 16, 2008, fix his pay and seniority accordingly, count 50 percent of his contingent paid service from 1992 to 2008 towards qualifying service for pension, and release all consequential pensionary benefits.
The Education Department has been given eight weeks from the receipt of the order to complete the entire process. The tribunal made no order as to costs. [KNT]
