Panchanan Dalai vs. State Of Odisha - Orissa High Court, 16 August 2024

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

W.P.(C) No.24541 of 2021 Page 1 of 6 ORISSA HIGH COURT : CUTTACK W.P.(C) No.24541 of 2021 In the matter of an Application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, 1950 *** 1. Panchanan Dalai Aged 55 years Son of Bhimsen Dalai Driver, Commercial Tax Circle Office Bhanjanagar, District: Ganjam. 2. Prafulla Kumar Mishra Aged 52 years Son of Padmanav Mishra Driver, Office of JCCT, Ganjam Circle Berhampur, District: Ganjam. 3. Kishore Chandra Moharana Aged 52 years Son of Late Sitaram Moharana, Driver, Office of DCCT, Phulbani District: Kandhamal. 4. Sk. Abdul Salam Aged 53 years Son of Late Abdul Salhar Driver, Office of DCCT, Gajapati Paralakhemundi, District: Ganjam. 5. Mahendra Kumar Sethi Aged 42 years Son of Late Bipra Charan Sethi W.P.(C) No.24541 of 2021 Page 2 of 6 Driver, Office of DCCT, Ganjam-II Circle Berhampur, District: Ganjam.… Petitioners. -VERSUS- 1. State of Odisha Represented through Principal Secretary Finance Department Odisha Secretariat Bhubaneswar, Khordha. 2. Commissioner of Commercial Tax & Goods and Service Tax, Odisha, Banijyakar Bhawan Cuttack. 3. JCCT, Ganjam Range, Berhampur District: Ganjam … Opposite parties. Counsel appeared for the parties: For the Petitioners : M/s. Bhabani Sankar Tripathy-1, Atul Tripathy and Amit Sahoo, Advocates For the Opposite parties : M/s. Sailaza Nandan Das and Tarun Patnaik, Additional Standing Counsel P R E S E N T: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MURAHARI SRI RAMAN

Date of Hearing : 25.07.2024 :: Date of Order : 16.08.2024 ORDER The petitioners, drivers of different Ranges and Circles under the Commissionerate of Commercial Tax & Goods and Service Tax, laid challenge against Order No.1250- SMNG-HC-54/2020/CT&GST, dated 07.08.2021 of the Commissioner of Commercial Tax & Goods and Service Tax, Odisha, Cuttack, in refusing to regularise their contractual service against sanctioned post by way of filing the instant writ petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India with the following prayer(s): “On the facts and in the circumstances stated above, your petitioners, therefore, pray that this Hon’ble Court be pleased to; i) quash the impugned Order No.1250 dated 07.08.2021 of the opposite party No.2 in Annexure- 11 by holding the same as illegal and bad in law and thereby; ii) direct the opposite party No.2 to forthwith issue formal orders in favour of the petitioners regularizing their services as Drivers in various establishments under opposite party No.3 with effect from the date of their completing six years of contractual services in the scale of pay PB-1-Rs.5,200-20,200/- + GP Rs.1900/- with usual allowances admissible from time to time as per General Administration Department Resolution dated 17.09.2013 and in the same manner as has been allowed to similarly situated contractual Drivers and employees in Annexure-5 Series and as per the law laid down by the Apex Court in the case of State of Karnataka Vrs. Umadevi (3), reported in (2006) 4 SCC 1, State of Karnataka Vrs. M.L. Kesari, reported in (2010) 9 SCC 247 and all subsequent similar judgments; iii) pass such other order(s) as deemed fit and proper in the bona fide interest of justice and fair play and; iv) for which act of your kindness, petitioners shall as in duty bound, ever pray.”

The petitioner Nos.1 to 4 were initially engaged as Drivers on DLR Basis in the Commercial Tax Offices at Bhanjanagar, Berhampur, Phulbani & Paralakhemundi respectively with effect from 18.04.1996, 04.04.1996, November, 1996 and 20.04.1996. While continuing on such DLR basis all the petitioners were given as Direct Contractual engagement as Drivers with consolidated remuneration of Rs.3,050/- per month vide Office Order No.634/CT dated 19.02.2010 of Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Ganjam Range, Berhampur-opposite party No.

Such contractual appointments of the petitioners were made pursuant to the direction of the opposite party No.

Based on the aforesaid Office Order dated 19.02.2010 consequential order was issued by the opposite party No.3 vide Order No.639 dated 19.02.2010 indicating the posting of the petitioners in the Office of Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Bhanjanagar Circle, Office of Commercial Tax Officer, Assessment Unit, Aska, Office of Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Ganjam-1 Circle, Berhampur and Office of Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Gajapati Circle, Paralakhemundi and Office of Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Ganjam-II Circle, Berhampur respectively. In the said Office Order the petitioner Nos.3 and 5 upon their posting were deployed to Ganjam Range, Berhampur and Commercial Tax Officer, Assessment Unit, Rambha respectively. All the petitioners joined in their contractual appointment on 22.02.2010 and have been continuing as such with an unblemished service records on annual extension basis.

This matter was taken up for analogous hearing with W.P.(C) No.24545 of 2021 on 25.07.2024. On conclusion of arguments in the said case, the learned counsel for the petitioners herein submitted that instant writ petition filed at the behest of contractual drivers, whose status with respect to service particulars has been narrated in the above paragraph, seek for identical relief. Being similarly situated, the petitioners herein would abide by the decision rendered in said W.P.(C) No.24545 of 2021, wherein 11 petitioners, working as contractual drivers, filed the writ petition.

To this, the Additional Standing Counsel appearing for the opposite parties raised no objection.

In view of such conceded position, this writ petition stands disposed of in the same terms contained in the Judgment pronounced today (16.08.2024) in W.P.(C) No.24545 of 2021. (MURAHARI SRI RAMAN)

JUDGE

High Court of Orissa, Cuttack The 16th August, 2024//LAXMIKANT/SUCHITRA