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Yash Pal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · Neutral citation not assigned (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 616 of 2013)Decided 2 Jan 2017
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 616 of 2013
Chief Justice T.S. Thakur · Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud

Background

Twenty-nine men engaged as casual/daily-wage porters by the Indian Army in the border areas of Rajouri, Jammu and Poonch, carrying supplies, ammunition and evacuating casualties in high-altitude, life-threatening terrain, sought regularisation as permanent civilian employees with associated pay benefits. Earlier rounds of litigation (including a 2013 Supreme Court decision and 2015 contempt proceedings) had already held that a direction for regularisation could not be issued, but had nudged the government to frame a welfare scheme for these porters. By the time of this petition, the Ministry of Defence had drafted such a scheme and placed it before the Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Court reaffirmed that it could not direct regularisation of the porters given the seasonal/casual nature of their engagement and the absence of sanctioned posts, but held that the government's proposed welfare scheme was inadequate. It directed the Union government to: pay porters at the minimum pay-scale applicable to multi-tasking staff (plus any high-altitude/high-risk allowances), provide regular medical facilities, enhance compensation for death or disability (above the proposed cap), and increase the one-time severance payment to at least fifteen days' salary for every completed year of service, all to be finalised within three months. The petitions were accordingly disposed of in these terms.

Lesson Learnt

Courts may be unable to order permanent "regularisation" where posts are not sanctioned, but they can and will intervene to ensure dignified wages, medical care, and death/disability compensation for long-serving casual workers performing hazardous government work: equal-pay and human-dignity principles apply even without a right to a permanent post.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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