Explanation:

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that the completion of seven years of continuous service alone would not entitle a daily wager for regularization, unless other eligibility conditions were fulfilled.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani set aside a single-judge verdict directing the authorities to regularize the daily wagers from the date they had completed seven years continuously in service.

The judgement stated that a Daily Rated Worker would become eligible for regularization on fulfilment of all the conditions as contained in Rule 4 of the provisions of SRO 64. Completion of seven years of continuous period of daily wage service alone thus would not entitle a daily wager for regularization unless such daily wager fulfills other eligibility conditions.

The Court was hearing an appeal against the judgment passed in favour of daily wagers who were engaged by the administration in 1994.

They had pleaded for their service from 2001 to 2009 to be considered for all service benefits including promotion, seniority, pension and other monetary benefits.

The daily wagers claimed that they were entitled to regularization from April 1, 2001, on which date they completed seven years of service. However, the process was not finalized by the State for unknown reasons, owing to which they came to be regularized on December 30, 2009 with prospective effect.

The single-judge, in an order passed in 2017, directed the authorities to give effect to their regularization with effect from the date they had completed seven years of continuous service.