altaf hussain khan vs FLORICULTURE PARKS AND GARDEN DEPARTMENT on 30 October 2026

O R D E R

M.S.LATIF, M (J) oral 01/ Through the medium of this petition, the petitioner has, inter alia, sought the following relief :

TARIQ A MOTA

“The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to declare the continued failure of the respondents to take a reasoned decision upon the applicant's request to resume casual work as arbitrary and unlawful, and command them to decide his case in accordance with law after considering all relevant records and providing him an opportunity to submit his explanation with further direction to the respondents to permit the applicant to resume his engagement as Casual Labour bearing ID No. T-196 and direct them to produce/preserve the applicant's complete records from 2013 onwards, including muster rolls, wage- payment registers, bank-payment authorizations, departmental ID T-196 record, biometric/CSLW records if any, and notes/orders concerning his exclusion from work besides examine and decide the applicant's eligibility for regular engagement. The petitioner has also sought a direction, as an interim measure, that pending final disposal, the respondents No. 3 be directed to receive his joining documents, consider his request for immediate resumption within two weeks.” 02/ What is deducible from the pleadings made in this petition is that the petitioner has been excluded from working as casual labourer in the Department of Floriculture, although, as asserted by him, he has been working in the department since 2013. In this regard he relies upon departmental wage payments through his bank account, the official acknowledgment of his identity and status and the correspondence of the Assistant Floriculture Officer, Botanical Garden, Kokernag. 03/ Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that because of the fact that the petitioner fell ill and needed immediate medical treatment, he could not attend his duties during January-March 2026 as he underwent treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh, however, he approached the Department to resume work when his condition improved. The Department's communication dated 07.04.2026 forwarded his representation to the Floriculture Officer, Anantnag,

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specifically recording the medical explanation and his absence in the muster sheets. It is further submitted that another communication dated 25.07.2026 reiterated the matter. Both communications continued to identify him as Casual Labour ID No. T-196. Learned counsel submitted that the petitioner even complied with the direction of the respondents to formally furnish a affidavit, attested by a Magistrate, in which he disclosed the absence, expressed regret and requested that he be permitted to continue. 04/ Learned counsel further submitted that the petitioner also represented his grievance to the Chief Secretary in August 2026. According to the petitioner, no disengagement/termination order has been communicated to him and no reasoned decision has been taken upon his request for resumption of duties. The petitioner, primarily, seeks a fair and prompt decision on his request to resume his acknowledged casual engagement and appropriate directions against arbitrary exclusion without considering the departmental record and medical explanation. The petitioner further seeks examination of his entitlement to regular engagement under SRO- 520 of 2017. It is submitted that the petitioner does not claim wages for the period he admittedly did not work due to his illness. Learned counsel submits that the petitioner discharged such duties as were entrusted to him at or under Botanical Garden, Kokernag,

TARIQ A MOTA

and remained associated with the respondent Department for approximately thirteen years before the illness and he was paid wages continuously through credits to his bank account. The account entries constitute contemporaneous corroboration of actual wage payment and departmental engagement. His departmental identity is also acknowledged independently in the respondents' own official letters dated 07.04.2026 and 25.07.2026, which describe him as "Casual Labour bearing ID No. T-196". However, he, unfortunately, developed medical difficulties and was unable to report for work during January, February and March 2026, which is candidly acknowledged by him by giving an explanation that he was undergoing medical treatment, including consultation at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. Copies of the medical documents include the PGIMER Chandigarh outpatient record dated 17.02.2026, furnishing independent evidence of medical consultation during the period in question and the same are annexed with the petition as (Annexure- II.) 05/ Grievance of the petitioner is that upon improvement in his health, he sought permission to resume his work and approached the concerned departmental officer and in this regard the Assistant Floriculture Officer, Botanical Garden, Kokernag, forwarded his representation to the Floriculture Officer, Anantnag

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vide letter No. AFO/BGK/FD/15 dated 07.04.2026. It is submitted that the petitioner was not permitted to resume his duties, though his representation was again forwarded to the higher authorities for consideration, if admissible under rules, but no decision has been taken as yet on his representation or the communications forwarded to the higher authorities. It is submitted that the petitioner is suffering a lot of hardships by being left without an effective decision on whether he may resume his casual work, having approached the competent departmental machinery without fail and not obtained a final response. 06/ Being aggrieved by the inaction of the respondents in not considering his claim for rejoining and failure in taking a final decision on his representations, the applicant has filed the instant O.A. seeking appropriate reliefs from this Hon'ble Tribunal. 07/ Be that as it may, after arguing for a considerable period of time, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner will be satisfied if this petition is disposed of, at this very stage, by directing the respondents to treat this O.A as representation of the petitioner and decide the same as expeditiously as possible. The proposition so made is not objected to by the learned counsel for the respondents.

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08/ In view of the innocuous relief sought at bar by learned counsel for the petitioner, this petition is disposed of, without commenting upon the merits of the case, by providing that the respondents shall treat this O.A as composite representation of the petitioner and consider and decide the same in accordance with law and rules governing the field along with representations filed by the petitioner before the respondents earlier. Needful to be done within a period of four weeks’ by passing a speaking and detailed order in the matter to be reckoned from the date a copy of this judgement as also copy of this petition is served upon the respondents. 09/ In the aforementioned backdrop, this O.A 1210/2026 shall stand disposed of along with connected M.As. (M. S. LATIF) Member (Judl.) TARIQ MOTA CONSULTANT (PS) 30-10-2026.

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