Delhi High Court upholds regularisation of railway commission vendors after decades of non-compliance

The Delhi High Court issued a judgment upholding the regularisation of commission-based vendors and bearers in the Railways, rejecting the Union of India's challenge to a 2016 Central Administrative Tribunal order that mandated their absorption into permanent service and payment of statutory dues.

Who it concerns: Commission vendors and bearers working on a commission basis with the North Eastern Railway (specifically respondents Mithai Lal and Ram Baran), the Union of India (Ministry of Railways), and the Central Administrative Tribunal.

What the document says

• The High Court upheld the Central Administrative Tribunal's judgment dated 7 November 2016, which directed the Railways to regularise the services of the applicants within 90 days.
• The Tribunal directed the payment of the minimum of the revised pay scale (based on Fifth Pay Commission recommendations) along with Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance, and other allowances, effective from 14 November 2000.
• The Tribunal imposed a cost of Rs. 1 lakh on the respondents to be paid to the applicants for the expenses incurred during the litigation.
• The Court noted that the Supreme Court had previously directed the implementation of the 1976 Railway Board circular and the 2005 Railway Board circular regarding the absorption of these workers.
• The High Court dismissed the writ petitions filed by the Union of India, thereby validating the lower tribunal's order for regularisation and back pay.

Also in the document

• The judgment highlights a history of non-compliance by the Railways with Supreme Court directions dating back to 1987 and 1997 regarding the absorption of commission vendors.
• The 2005 Railway Board circular mandated regularisation with relaxation of educational qualifications and set the retirement age at 60 years.
• The Tribunal described the administration's failure to implement its own circulars and Supreme Court orders as 'shocking' and indicative of administrative collapse.
• The case involves workers who had been fighting for regularisation for decades, with the initial Railway Board circular issued in 1976.