Weekly, National Holidays Not Excluded From Length Of Work Experience: Rajasthan HC Reiterates In Lab Technician's Case Seeking Bonus Marks

Dismissing a plea against an order asking the State to consider awarding a female lab technician "bonus marks" as per her actual work experience without excluding Sundays/National Holidays, the Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan High Court reiterated that as long as a Laboratory Technician/Assistant works in the lab, the "experience" obtained by them must be counted. 

In doing so, the division bench, upheld the decision of a single judge bench which while allowing the contractual Laboratory Technician's plea had held that the work experience on the post of Lab Technician or Lab Assistant was "similar in nature as long as they perform their duty in the Laboratory". 

A division bench of Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Kuldeep Mathur in its order said, "There is no denial by the respondent (State) that under the (Rajasthan Medical and Health Subordinate Services) Rules of 1965 the qualification for the post of Lab Assistant is (i) Senior Secondary with Science or its equivalent and (ii) any Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology from an institute recognized by the State Government".

The bench noted that the State had pleaded that after the commencement of the Rajasthan Medical & Health Subordinate Service (Amendment) Rules 2018, persons having "3 years experience of working as Laboratory Assistant/Laboratory Technician" in state government hospitals "are also eligible".

Noting that the employee was working on a contractual basis as Laboratory Technician, the bench said, "We accord our concurrence to the view expressed by the writ Court to the extent that Lab Technician or Lab Assistant as long as they work in the Laboratory, the experience obtained by them must be counted". 

The order came in an appeal moved by the State Government against a March 24 order of the single judge bench. The single judge bench had said that the State's decision to reject the respondent Laboratory Technician's representation seeking that her actual work experience be counted without excluding Sundays and Saturdays was "illegal". 

Before the single judge bench the respondent technician had challenged a July 3, 2023 order of the medical health and welfare department, rejecting her claim to provide her bonus marks as per actual length of her work experience, without excluding Sundays and holidays. 

The division bench referred to the high court's decision in Suresh Choudhary v State of Rajasthan (2021) which was also relied upon by the single judge to form an opinion that the rejection of the respondent's representation was illegal. 

In Suresh Choudhary it was held: 

“As per the Labour Laws, all organizations/institutions/enterprises etc., whether government owned or private are, required to observed weekly offs or are bound to allow one weekly off to each employee. If the petitioner was allowed a weekly off by the respondent themselves, his experience cannot be counted hyper-technically by excluding such day offs. The State's action of calculating petitioner's working days to be 339 (324+15) days and considering such period to be the actual working days is clearly illegal and violative of petitioner's fundamental rights.”

Based on this ruling, the single judge bench had set aside the rejection of the respondent's representation and had ordered consideration of her candidature for awarding bonus marks "as per entitlement and reassess her performance" and for calculation of her work experience without excluding Sundays and National holidays.

Taking note of the above, the division bench thereafter said, "Under the General Clauses Act, month has been defined under clause 35 to section 3 to mean a month reckoned according to British calendar. This is well settled that, while computing a month Sundays and holidays are not excluded". 

Agreeing with the decision of the single judge bench, the division bench dismissed the State's appeal. 

Title: State of Rajasthan & Ors. v Bharti

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 300

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