Shimla, Sep 5 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Saturday directed the state government to frame and adopt a transparent policy for avoiding unnecessary litigation among the employees and the state.

Taking serious note of the state's sluggish approach in dealing with the service matters of employees leading to unnecessary litigation, the court reprimanded the state that it should frame and adopt transparent elaborate policy for avoiding unnecessary litigation among the employees and the state and should march towards a state with least litigation in such service matters.

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These orders were passed by the high court while allowing the writ pleas of petitioners initially engaged as daily-waged workers in the forest department, who had prayed for regularisation of their services on completion of eight years, by counting their service since 1996-1997, and by ignoring period of fictional breaks given by the department during 2001 and 2002. 

The petitioners had said that persons -- who were similarly situated to them -- have been regularised consequent to judgments dated June 1 and 15, 2009, passed by the high court.

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While hearing the petitions, the court observed that the respondent department while accepting the verdict of the court in case of two similarly situated employees, is not extending the same benefit to similarly situated other employees, but compelling them to knock the door of the court unnecessarily and over-burdening it by avoidable litigation causing loss of time, energy and funds not only to petitioners and government, but also to the court.

The HC further observed that the state being a model employer should not sit over the claims of similarly situated employees forcing them to approach the court. 

It also said the law officers in the department as well as the law department in the state have not been appointed for increasing unwarranted litigation in the court, but to reduce the same so as to utilise maximum energy and resources of the state for development and welfare of the nation.

The court said that it appears that no one dares to bear the responsibility of taking decisions and that the court's verdict in every matter is being considered by the officers and officials of the state as a safest mode for settling the disputes between employees and the state irrespective of the fact that the cases of employees is identical to earlier case relied upon or referred by the employees.

The HC directed the forest department to extend all consequential benefits to the petitioners on or before October 31.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)