FCI Extracted Work For 40 Yrs & 'Conveniently Overlooked' Its 'Convenience Cleaner': Andhra Pradesh HC Upholds Regularisation Of Safai Karamchari

The Division Bench of Justice G.Narendar and Justice Nyapathy Vijay observed that FCI, Nellore, ought to regularise the services of the writ petitioner as safai karamchari, considering the perennial nature of her work, as well as the long duration for which she has rendered her services.

“…The convenience cleaner was conveniently overlooked all through by the Respondent-Corporation”, the division bench remarked in the writ appeal preferred by the respondent corporation.

The court felt that it was important to provide the petitioner-scavenger with some sense of job security at this point. In 2026, the petitioner, who initially joined as a scavenger in 1986, will be completing four decades of service at FCI.

Earlier, in December 2023, a single-judge bench of the High Court had ordered the regularisation of the employee-safai karamachari with effect from 2002, accompanied by all benefits attached to the said post.

About the corporation's contention that the petitioner-scavenger did not possess the necessary educational qualification, the court asked the corporation as to what educational qualifications are prerequisites for the post of safai karamcharis.

“…Admittedly, petitioner studied upto 5^th class and it is not the case of the Respondent-Corporation that petitioner is illiterate and cannot read and write. The post is not a table post requiring to do any paperwork and apart from that, the Respondent-Corporation having extracted work for nearly 40 years, it would not open to urge this ground”, the court underscored.

Regarding the Corporation opposing regularisation for want of sanctioned posts, the court referred to the decision in Nihal Singh v. State of Punjab, 2013(14) SCC 65, where the appellants were ordered to be absorbed by the state despite the lack of sanctioned posts by creating new, necessary posts. Placing reliance on Nihal Singh, the court concluded that in the absence of any defence taken by the Corporation pertaining to financial constraints, the single-judge bench has rightly ordered the regularisation of the petitioner's services.

In 1995, the Ministry of Social Welfare also recommended the regularisation of Safai Karamcharis engaged on a daily basis as a policy directive, which the corporation failed to implement. The court added that the corporation has failed to furnish details of any safai karamcharis/ scavengers regularised as per the government's said directive.

“…In the face of specific instructions of Government of India, it would not be open to the Respondent-Corporation to contend that the regularization of the services of the petitioner is not possible for want of sanctioned posts”, the court observed.

Background

Earlier, in 2013, during the first round of litigation, the High Court had noted that there is a post of labourer in Class IV posts, and the job description is mentioned as 'labour/cleaning gang'. Even in 1989, the Assistant Manager (HK) had given a recommendation for the regularisation of the petitioner's services since there were several latrines and a bathroom in the district office that required regular cleaning, preferably twice a day.

In 1993, the petitioner made a representation for the regularisation of her services, which was not acted upon by the employer. As a result of a writ petition in 2001, time scale attached to her post got extended. In 2002, FCI appointed her to the post of 'safaiwala'.

Later, though the scale of pay and allowances were revised for employees in the III and IV Categories, the same benefits were not extended to the petitioner-scavenger. Another writ preferred by the petitioner who was aggrieved by these issues got rejected in 2013.

Meanwhile, the petitioner's fresh representation to FCI for regularisation of services was also rejected on account of her insufficient educational qualification and the age barrier stipulated in FCI (Staff) Regularization, 1971, for appointment to a post in the section of Directorate General of Food. The petitioner was 43 years old at the relevant time in 2013.

When the petitioner filed the writ, the respondent corporation argued that Scavenging was not full-time work and there was no such post for labour in FCI, Andhra Pradesh. The Corporation also contended that the government lifted the ban for full entry-level category IV posts only with regard to those employees who completed three months of service on full time basis as of 02.05.1996.

These contentions were duly rejected by the High Court in the writ appeal before rejecting the appeal in whole.

Counsel for the Appellants: Advocate Maheswara Rao Kuncheam

Counsel for the Respondent: Advocate G Jonathan

Case Name: Food Corporation of India, Zonal Office 111 & Ors. v. Smt. G. Mary, W/o. Yesudas

Case No: WA No. 88 of 2024

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