Sri D Nagaraj v. The State of Karnataka

Order gives full particulars of these all these employees such as their pay scale, basic pay & places of their posting. The Joint Director Mr.Kumara.L. who on request having appeared before us clarifies this position and that petitioners have nothing to do with 3rd Respondent who was not arrayed as a party before the Tribunal. The services of the petitioners were continued with 2nd Respondent by creating supernumerary posts. The liability of Respondents 1 & 2 cannot be disowned and they are bound to honour the status of the petitioners as their regular employees and accordingly, they have to be paid their salary & terminal benefits. This aspect of the matter has not been properly addressed by the Tribunal, as rightly argued by learned counsel for the petitioners.

(iii) The observation of the Tribunal as to absence of regularization or absorption order again is unsustainable since the services of these poor employees were continued in the 2nd Respondent-Department by creating supernumerary posts with admissible pay scales and allowances. We fail to understand how relief could have been denied to these litigants who have spent years in their legal battle. Even a blind man can see from the records that Petitioners have shed their blood & sweat in the service of 2nd Respondent which is the Department of State Government that too on regular basis, having been selected in the open competition followed by appointment. Had the petitioners got back door entry to the public service, as has would happen in many cases that would come before us, the consideration would have been much different. However, that is not the case at hand.

(iv) It hardly needs to be stated that any employment begins with a contract and public employment is not an exception to this. The only difference between private

engagement & public employment is: in the latter, ordinarily there is movement from contact to status unlike in the former vide TULSIRAM PATEL vs. UOI, AIR 1985 SC 1416. This status is associated with several benefits both monetary & service. When status is denied, such benefits also stand denied. Even otherwise, denial of status per se gives a justiciable action to the employees.

(v) We are told that in this long legal battle preceded by earlier ones, years have lapsed and some of the petitioners are dead & gone, their LRs having been brought on record. Two of the petitioners namely, Mr. R.Prakash & Mr. A M Srinivas are still continuing in service. Their status & salary protection needs to be accorded qua similarly circumstanced civil servants. For the rest, the terminal benefits need to be sanctioned & released. Relevant particulars in this regard are to be furnished from the side of petitioners at the earliest to facilitate implementation of the mandate of this judgement.

In the above circumstances, these petitions are favoured; a Writ of Certiorari issues quashing the impugned order of the Tribunal; Petitioners' subject Applications having been allowed, the following directions are issued to Respondent Nos.1 & 2:

(i) Petitioners are declared to be civil servants holding the posts mentioned in the order dated 04.02.1992, with all admissible benefits such as salary, allowances & terminal benefits.

(ii) Whichever Petitioner is dead, their terminal benefits such as the ones admissible to regular civil servants of the comparable cadre shall be sanctioned & released to their LRs, by way of arrears. Their widows shall be sanctioned & released family pension w.e.f. the dates their spouses died.

(iii) The above directions shall be complied within three months and compliance shall be reported to the Registrar General of this Court forthwith. If delay is brooked, the payables shall carry interest at the rate of 1% per mensum for the first two months and 2% for the period next following which may be recovered from the erring officials of the Department, personally. Costs, reluctantly are made easy.

Sd/- (KRISHNA S DIXIT) JUDGE

Sd/- (RAMACHANDRA D. HUDDAR) JUDGE SNB/Bsv/List No.: 1 Sl No.: 1

NC:(2025:KHC:16847-DB( WP(No.(2069(of(2021( C/W(WP(No.(11098(of(2021( ( ( ( IN(THE(HIGH(COURT(OF(KARNATAKA(AT(BENGALURU( THDATED(THIS(THE(24 (DAY(OF(APRIL,(2025( PRESENT( THE(HON'BLE(MR(JUSTICE(KRISHNA(S(DIXIT( (AND(( (THE(HON'BLE(MR(JUSTICE(RAMACHANDRA(D.(HUDDAR( WRIT(PETITION(NO.2069(OF(2021((S-KSAT)( C/W(( WRIT(PETITION(NO.11098(OF(2021((S-KSAT)( ( IN(WP(No.(2069/2021:( ( BETWEEN:(( ( 1., SRI,D,NAGARAJ, AGED,ABOUT,63,YELARS, S/O,DODDASONNAPPA, RETIRED,AS,FISHERIES,SUPERVISOR, O/O,THE,CURATOR, GOPVERNMENT,OF,AQARIAM, CUBBON,PARK,,KASTHURIBHA,ROAD,, BENGALURU,-,560001, , Digitally signedtiby RESIDING,AT,NO.,19,, CHETAN0B0C VEERANNA,GARDEN,,HENNUR, Location: KALYANAGAR,POST, HIGH0COURT BENGALURU,-560,043,OF KARNATAKA , 2., SRI,R,H,HANUMAIAH, DEAD,BY,HIS,LRS, , 2(a), SMT.,MANJAMMA, AGED,ABOUT,58,YEARS, W/O,LATE,R.H.,HANUMAIAH, THR/A,NO.,1005,,10 ,CROSS, RAGHAVENDRA,BLOCK, SRINAGAR, BANGALORE,-560,098, NC:(2025:KHC:16847-DB( WP(No.(2069(of(2021( C/W(WP(No.(11098(of(2021( ( ( ( 2(b), SRI,JAYASHEELAKUMAR, AGED,ABOUT,25,YEARS, S/O,LATE,R,H,HANUMAIAH, THR/A,NO.,1005,,10 ,CROSS, RAGHAVENDRA,BLOCK, SRINAGAR, BANGALORE,-560,019, , 2(c), SMT.,JAYALAKSHMI, AGED,ABOUT,35,YEARS, W/O,ROOPESHWARANAND, D/O,LATE,HANUMAIAH, NO.,6/1,,SUNKENAHALLI, NEAR,YELLAMMADEVI,TEMPLE, GAVIPURAM,,GUTTAHALLI,EXTENSION, BANGALORE,-19, , 3., SRI,K,S,SHIVARAMANNA, SINCE,DECEASED,BY,HIS,LRS, , 3(a), SMT.SARASWATHAMMA, AGED,ABOUT,50,YEARS, W/O,LATE,K.S.SHIVARAMANNA, , 3(b), SMT.SOWMYA,.S, AGED,ABOUT,29,YEARS, D/O,LATE,K.S.SHIVARAMANNA, , 3(c), SRI,ABHISHEK.S, AGED,ABOUT,27,YEARS, S/O,LATE,K.SHIVARAMANNA, , ALL,ARE,RESIDING,AT,NO.30,,, SIDDLINGESHWARA,NILAYA, TH RD14 ,CROSS,,3 ,MAIN, VISHWESHWARANAGAR, SUNKADAKATTE, BANGALORE,–,560,091, , …PETITIONERS, (BY,SRI.,MUKKANNAPPA,S,B,,ADVOCATE), , NC:(2025:KHC:16847-DB( WP(No.(2069(of(2021( C/W(WP(No.(11098(of(2021( ( ( ( AND:( ( 1., THE,STATE,OF,KARNATAKA, REPRESENTED,BY,ITS, PRINCIPAL,SECRETAWRY, DEPARTMENTOF,ANIMAL,HUSBANDARY, AND,FISHERIES,,VIKASA,SOUDHA, BENGALURU,500,001., , 2., THE,DIRECTOR,OF,FISHERIES, VISHWESHWARAIAH,TOWER, DR.,B.R.,AMBEDKAR,VEEDHI,, BENGALURU,-560,001., , 3., THE,MANAGING,DIRECTOR, KARNATAKA,INLAND,FISHERIES,DEVELOPMENT, CORPORATION,LTD.,, HOIGE,BAZAAR,,, MANGALORE,–,575,001., ,, …RESPONDENTS, , (BY,SRI,B.J.ESWARAPPA,,AGA,FOR,R1,AND,R2;, ,,,,,,SRI,MARUTHI.S,,ADVOCATE,FOR,R3), , , THIS, WRIT, PETITION, IF, FILED, UNDER, ARTICLES, 226, AND,227,OF,THE,CONSTITUTION,OF,INDIA,PRAYING,TO,SET, ASIDE, THE, ORDER, DATED, 21.01.2020, PASSED, BY, THE, KARNATAKA, STATE, ADMINISTRATIVE, TRIBUNAL, , AT, BANGALORE,, IN, APPLICATION, NO.445,, 448, AND, 449/2018, AND, CONSEQUENTLY, ALLOW, THE, APPLICATIONS, AS, PRAYED, FOR,AND,ETC.,, , , NC:(2025:KHC:16847-DB( WP(No.(2069(of(2021( C/W(WP(No.(11098(of(2021( ( ( ( IN(WP(NO.(11098/2021:, , BETWEEN:( , 1., SRI.R.PRAKASH, AGED,ABOUT,55,YEARS, S/O,SRI,.,K.,RANGAIAH, PRESENTLY,WORKING,AS,STENOGRAPHER,, OFFICE,OF,THE,DIRECTOR,OF,FISHERIES, RD3 ,FLOOR,,PODIUM,BLOCK,,V.V.,TOWER, DR.,B.R.,AMBEDKAR,VEEDHI,, BENGALURU,560,001, STR/AT,NO.,761,,1 ,MAIN,ROAD,, VAIYALIKAVAL,,BENGALURU,-560,003., , 2., SRI.,MARIMADAIAH, SINCE,DECEASED,BY,HIS,LRS, , 2(a), SMT.SHYLAJA,K.R, AGED,ABOUT,48,YEARS, W/O,LATE,MARIMADAIAH, , 2(b), SRI,M.TEJESH, AGED,ABOUT,25,YEARS, S/O,LATE,MARIMADAIAH, , ALL,RESIDING,AT,SHIVAPARVATHI,NILAYA, RD3 ,CROSS,,NRI,LAYOUT, KALKERE,,HORAMAVU, BANGALORE-,560,043, , 3., SRI.A.M.,SRINIVAS, AGED,ABOUT,53,YEARS, S/O,LATE,N.S.,MUNIYAPPA, WORKING,AS,GROUP,D,EMPLOYEE, OFFICE,OF,THE,DIRECTOR,OF,FISHERIES, RD3 ,FLOOR,,PODIUM,BLOCK,,V.V.,TOWER, DR.,B.R.,AMBEDKAR,VEEDHI,, BENGALURU,-560001, RESIDING,AT,RANGANATHAPURA,, NEAR,SHANIMAHATHMA,TEMPLE, KAMAKSHIPALYA,,BENGALURU,-560079, NC:(2025:KHC:16847-DB( WP(No.(2069(of(2021( C/W(WP(No.(11098(of(2021( ( ( ( ...PETITIONERS, , (BY,SRI.,MUKKANNAPPA,S,B,,ADVOCATE), , AND:( , 1., THE,STATE,OF,KARNATAKA, REPRESENTED,BY,ITS,PRINCIPAL,SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT,OF,ANIMAL,HUSBANDRY, AND,FISHERIES,,VIKASA,SOUDHA, BENGALURU,-,560,001, , 2., THE,