1 2025:CGHC:61878 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No. 482 of 2023 1 - Harprasad Dhuri S/o Rameshwar Prasad Aged About 31 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Cleaning Supervisor, Zone No.7, Rajkishor Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Suraj Kori S/o Shri Krishna Kumar Kori Aged About 38 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Cleaning Supervisor, Zone No.1, Sakri, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Trilochan Yadav S/o Shri Chhedi Lal Yadav Aged About 38 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Cleaning Supervisor, Zone No.1, Sakri, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 - Ravi Kumar Parte S/o Shri Narad Singh Parte Aged About 34 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Cleaning Supervisor, Zone No.6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Rajesh Suryavanshi S/o Shri Jeevan Lal Aged About 36 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Cleaning Supervisor, Zone No.7, Rajkishor Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh --- Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of Town Administration And Development, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar Nawa Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Collector Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Municipal Corporation Bilaspur Through Its Commissioner, Composite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh Digitally signed by SHAYNA KADRI 2 4 - Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bilaspur, Composite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Sandeep Rai Contractor, Zone No.1, Ware House Road, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 - Ajay Tamrakar Proprietor Jyoti Traders, Ward No.6, Near Parshad Office, Jabdapara, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 7 - Neeraj Singh Thakur Contractor, Zone No.7, Gali No.6 Bangalipara, New Sarkanda, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh --- Respondent(s) WPS No. 524 of 2023 1 - Abdul Wahid Khan S/o Abdul Jahir Khan Aged About 41 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Electrical Supervisor, Zone No.6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Kaleshwar Nirmalkar S/o Late Shri Kujram Nirmalkar Aged About 32 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Peon, Zone No.7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur (C.G.) R/o Ward No.58, Khamtarai, Bilaspur (C.G.) 3 - Suresh Kumar Sahu S/o Late Shri Ramkhelawan Sahu Aged About 43 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Watchman, Zone No.7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur (C.G.) R/o Ward No 48, Mopka, Mahavir Chowk, Bilaspur (C.G.) 4 - Julesh Manikpuri S/o Amar Das Manikpuri Aged About 35 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Peon, Zone No.6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur (C.G.) R/o House No. 24/k, Nishadpara, Sukhatal, Bemetara (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of Town Administration And Development, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar Nawa Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Collector Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Municipal Corporation Bilaspur Through Its Commissioner, Composite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 4 - Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bilaspur, Composite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Ajay Tamrakar Proprietor Jyoti Traders, Ward No.60, Near Parshad Office, Jabdapara, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 - Neeraj Singh Thakur Contractor, Zone No.7, Gali No.6 Bangalipara, New Sarkanda, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh --- Respondent(s) WPS No. 638 of 2023 1 - Krishna Nishad S/o Sumeri Nishad Aged About 38 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Sunil Kesharwani S/o Faguram Kesharwani Aged About 50 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Anil Mande S/o Shyamlal Mande Aged About 36 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 - Rajkumar Dehere S/o Gajanand Dehere Aged About 47 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Akash Goyal S/o Late Mulchand Goyal Aged About 27 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 - Madhav Kumar S/o Shivcharan Gond Aged About 27 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 7 - Rekha Thakur W/o Shri Vijay Singh Thakur Aged About 40 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 8 - Santosh Dhuri S/o Shri Gopal Dhuri Aged About 36 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 9 - Ashok Kumar Sahu S/o Shri Ram Prasad Sahu Aged About 28 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 10 - Shlendra Dhruv S/o Malik Ram Dhruv Aged About 24 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 11 - Sushil Kumar Yadav S/o Ramkhilavan Aged About 32 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 12 - Shravan Kumar Suryavanshi S/o Shri Bisahu Ram Aged About 35 Years Occupation- Service, Presently Working As Pump Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary Department Of Town Administration And Development, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar Nawa Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Collector Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Municipal Corporation Bilaspur Through Its Commissioner Composite Building Nehru Chowk Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 - Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bilaspur, Composite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Ajay Tamrakar Proprietor Jyoti Traders, Ward No. 6, Near Parshad Office, Jabdapara Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 - Neeraj Singh Thakur Contractor, Zone No. 7, Gali No. 6 Bangalipara, New Sarkanda Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh --- Respondent(s) WPS No. 689 of 2023 1 - Prakash Kashyap S/o Chandrapal Kashyap Aged About 30 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Computer Operator, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Satya Jangde D/o Late Shri Nandlal Jangde Aged About 28 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Computer Operator, Zone No.1, Sakri, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 5 3 - Mukesh Dhruv S/o Late Shri Shantilal Dhruv Aged About 31 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Computer Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 4 - Rahul Mandre S/o Shri Ramprasad Mandre Aged About 30 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Computer Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 5 - Kuljeet Kurrey S/o Jyoti Kumar Aged About 30 Years Occupation Service, Presently Posted As Computer Operator, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of Town Administratioin And Development, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar Nawa Raipur, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Collector, Bilaspur District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur Through Its Commissioner, Composite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 4 - Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bilaspur, Composite Building, Nehru Chwok, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 5 - Sandeep Rai, Contractor Zone No. 1, Ware House Road, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 6 - Ajay Tamrakar, Proprietor Jyoti Traders, Ward No. 6, Near Parshad Office, Jabdapara, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 7 - Neeraj Singh Thakur, Contractor Zone No. 7, Gali No.6 Bangalipara, New Sarkanda, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. --- Respondent(s) WPS No. 691 of 2023 1 - Ashok Kumar Yadav S/o Shri Manharan Lal Yadav Aged About 41 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Boy, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 2 - Rupesh Joge S/o Laxmi Prasad Joge Aged About 27 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Boy, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Arun Nayak S/o Parmeshwar Nayak Aged About 26 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Daak Runner, Zone No. 6, Torwa, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 - Akhilesh Yadav S/o Shrinath Singh Aged About 39 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Boy, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Jitendra Kumar Suryawansi S/o Santosh Suryawansi Aged About 34 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Boy, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 - Sunil Kumar Shukla S/o Shree Ram Lochan Aged About 34 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Boy, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 7 - Vikas Kurrey S/o Satish Kumar Kurrey Aged About 33 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Boy, Zone No. 7, Rajkishore Nagar, Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 8 - Gajendra Miri S/o Shree Goverdhan Miri Aged About 43 Years Occupation - Service, Presently Working As Office Worker, Posted At Nagar Palika Nigam, Zone No. 7, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Department Of Town Administration And Development, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, District - Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Collector Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Municipal Corporation Bilaspur Through Its Commissioner, Comosite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 4 - Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bilaspur, Comosite Building, Nehru Chowk, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 5 - Ajay Tamrakar Proprietor Jyoti Traders, Ward No. 6, Near Parshad Office, Jabdapara, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 6 - Neeraj Singh Thakur Contractor, Zone No. 7, Gali No. 6, Bangalipara, New Sarkanda, Bilaspur, District : Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh 7 --- Respondent(s) (Cause-title is taken from Case Information System) For Petitioners : Mr. Malay Shrivastava, Advocate For State : Mr. Rahul Tamaskar, Government Advocate For Respective Respondents : Mr. K. Rohan, Advocate appearing on behalf of Mr. Abhyday Singh, Advocate SB- Hon'ble Shri Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 19/12/2025 1. The contents and factual matrix involved in all the writ petitions would revel that the bone of contention in them is one and the same, as such, all these writ petitions are clubbed together, heard together and are being decided by this common order. 2. Writ petition No. 482 of 2023 has been taken as lead case in order to decide the issues involved in this matter. The petitioner in the said writ petition has prayed for following reliefs :- “10.1 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to produce the entire records of the case pertaining to the Services of the petitioners. 10.2 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to regularize the services of the petitioners with the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur. 12 10.3 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to pay regular pay scale to the petitioners. 8 10.4 Any other relief(s)/ order(s)/ direction(s) in favour of petitioner, which this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice. 10.5 Cost of the petition.” 3. Brief facts of the case, as projected by the petitioner, are that the respondent No.1 is the State of Chhattisgarh and respondent No.2 is an officer functioning under the administrative control of respondent No.1. Respondent No.3 is a statutory body incorporated under the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act, 1956” for the sake of brevity), and respondent No.4 is an officer of respondent No.3. Respondent Nos.5 to 7 are independent contractors engaged by respondent No.4 for execution of municipal works. Thus, all the respondents are either the State or its instrumentalities within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India and are amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court. The petitioners are presently working on the post of Cleaning Supervisor. They were initially appointed by different Gram Panchayats/Nagar Panchayats, as per the local requirements, on different dates. Petitioner No.1 was appointed on 12.08.2016 by Gram Panchayat Mopka; Petitioner Nos.2 and 3 were appointed on 01.11.2008 by Nagar Panchayat Sakri; Petitioner No.4 was appointed on 25.01.2019 by Gram Panchayat Devrikhurd; and Petitioner No.5 was appointed on 24.11.2015 by 9 Gram Panchayat Khamtarai. Since their initial appointments, the petitioners have been continuously discharging their duties sincerely and to the satisfaction of the authorities. Owing to their satisfactory performance and requirement of work, their services were extended from time to time by issuing fresh appointment/extension orders, and they continued to work uninterruptedly under the concerned Panchayats from their respective dates of initial appointment. In the month of August, 2019, the respondent No.1, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 405 of the Act, 1956, took a policy decision to include the areas of 18 different Nagar Panchayats/Gram Panchayats into the territorial limits of the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur. Pursuant thereto, a Gazette Notification dated 20.08.2019 was issued, whereby the said areas surrounding the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, were formally included within its municipal limits. Sections 405 and 406 of the Act, 1956 provide for the power of the Governor to include or exclude areas within municipal limits and stipulate the legal consequences of such inclusion. In terms of Section 406, upon inclusion of an area within the municipal limits, the laws relating to Panchayats cease to apply and the municipal laws come into force, and the State Government is empowered to issue necessary orders to give effect to such inclusion and matters incidental or ancillary thereto. Consequent upon the issuance of the Gazette Notification dated 20.08.2019, the respondent No.1 issued instructions dated 28.08.2019 to the 10 Collector, Bilaspur, for management and regulation of works in the newly included areas and for initiating proceedings for disestablishment of villages under Section 126(2) of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Avam Gram Swaraj Adhiniyam, 1993. Significantly, Instruction No.7 categorically provided that all persons working under the concerned Nagar Panchayats/Gram Panchayats shall be treated as employees of the Municipal Corporation, and their service conditions shall remain the same as those prevailing prior to such inclusion. Section 126 of the Chhattisgarh Panchayat Raj Avam Gram Swaraj Adhiniyam, 1993 deals with disestablishment of villages and empowers the competent authority to pass consequential orders necessary for such disestablishment, after following due process. After inclusion of the concerned Panchayat areas within the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, the lists of employees working under the respective Panchayats were forwarded to respondent No.2. Upon receipt of the said lists, respondent No.3 started disbursing the salaries of the petitioners and other similarly situated employees. The salaries were paid by the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, continuously up to August 2019. It is the specific case of the petitioners that, upon such inclusion, their status stood changed and they were treated as employees of the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur. Their salaries were paid by the Municipal Corporation and they were governed by the service conditions applicable thereto. However, to the utter shock and surprise of the 11 petitioners, from July 2020 onwards, their salaries and other remuneration were abruptly started to be paid through respondent Nos. 5 to 7, who are independent contractors. It is pertinent to mention that even after allocating the petitioners under independent contractors, the Municipal Corporation continued to issue work orders in favour of the petitioners from time to time and assigned them municipal duties and responsibilities. The petitioners submit that they have rendered continuous service for more than eight years and, therefore, were legitimately entitled to consideration for regularization. Instead of regularizing their services, the respondent authorities arbitrarily downgraded their status by placing them under independent contractors. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioners submitted several representations before the competent authorities; however, no action was taken. The petitioners further submit that due to such allocation under independent contractors, their status has been reduced from that of Municipal Corporation employees to contractual workers under private contractors, thereby seriously affecting their rights of absorption, service security, and entitlement to remuneration and other amenities available to municipal employees. The impugned action of the respondents is arbitrary, illegal, discriminatory, and contrary to the statutory provisions and settled principles of law, giving rise to the present writ petition. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned action of the respondents in allocating the services of the 12 petitioners under independent contractors is wholly arbitrary, illegal and unsustainable in law. It is contended that the petitioners have been continuously working under the respondent authorities for a considerable length of time without any break in service and, therefore, are legitimately entitled to be granted regular pay scale commensurate with the nature of duties being performed by them. Learned counsel further submits that the action of the respondents is in clear violation and contradiction of the scheme and mandate of Sections 405 and 406 of the Chhattisgarh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956, which contemplate continuity of service and protection of existing service conditions upon inclusion of Panchayat areas into municipal limits. It is also urged that payment of salaries to the petitioners through respondent Nos. 5 to 7, who are independent contractors, is non est in the eyes of law, without authority and jurisdiction, and amounts to an impermissible abdication of statutory responsibility by the Municipal Corporation. Learned counsel emphasizes that the petitioners fulfill all requisite criteria for grant of regular pay scale, having rendered long and continuous service, yet they are being unjustly denied their lawful dues. The impugned action, it is submitted, is wholly unsustainable and has resulted in grave mental and financial hardship to the petitioners, warranting interference by this Court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction. 5. Learned State counsel, opposing the submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioners, submits that the petitioners have no 13 vested or legal right to claim regular pay scale or regularization merely on the basis of long continuance in service. It is contended that their engagement was purely contractual/temporary in nature and subject to administrative exigencies. Learned State counsel further submits that allocation of services through independent contractors is a policy decision taken in accordance with law and does not suffer from any arbitrariness or illegality. It is therefore prayed that the writ petition, being devoid of merit, deserves to be dismissed. 6. Learned counsel for the respondent - Municipal Corporation would submit that the petitioners have filed the present writ petition on the premise that pursuant to the notification dated 20.08.2019 issued by respondent No.1, whereby 18 Nagar Palikas, Nagar Panchayats and Gram Panchayats were included within the territorial limits of the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, the petitioners automatically became employees of the Municipal Corporation. It is submitted that although, after such inclusion, salaries of the petitioners were initially disbursed by the Municipal Corporation for a limited period, the same does not confer upon them any legal right of permanent absorption or regular employment under the Corporation. It is further submitted that, as is evident from the pleadings themselves, the petitioners were earlier engaged under different Nagar Panchayats and Gram Panchayats purely on the basis of requirement and necessity of work and were never appointed against any sanctioned posts. 14 Their engagement was of daily wage/temporary nature, commensurate with the needs of the respective Panchayats, and did not create any vested right in their favour. Learned counsel further submits that after inclusion of the areas into the Municipal Corporation, a specific instruction dated 28.08.2019 (Annexure P/4) was issued, wherein Clause 7 categorically provides that if the Municipal Corporation forms an opinion that the services of any person or officer are not required, it is empowered to discontinue or decline such services. Therefore, the action of the respondent Corporation is strictly in accordance with the said instructions and within the framework of law. It is also submitted that all the petitioners are daily wager workers and their names have been duly enlisted in the placement cell maintained by the respondent Corporation. The Corporation allocates work to such workers as and when required, depending upon availability of work, their capability and utility at different work sites. They are not regular employees of the Municipal Corporation and are engaged only as per administrative and operational requirements. Learned counsel further brings on record that a requisition was received from an independent contractor, namely M/s Ramesh Pandey, Bilaspur, for supply of 7 skilled and 18 unskilled labourers, totaling 25 labourers. Upon such requisition, the respondent Corporation, vide order dated 05.08.2020, permitted the said request. Subsequently, a five-member committee was constituted vide order dated 14.08.2020 to recommend the names 15 of labourers after assessing their capability and suitability. The petitioners, along with other labourers, were considered by the said committee and were sent for work purely on the basis of such assessment. It is emphatically submitted that the claim of the petitioners for regularization or grant of regular pay scale cannot be considered at this stage in view of the settled position of law governing regularization of daily wage or contractual employees. The petitioners continue to be part of the placement cell and are provided work as and when required, and no legal infirmity can be attributed to the action of the respondent Corporation. Learned counsel lastly submits that all other averments made in the writ petition, save and except those specifically admitted herein, are denied as false and baseless. In view of the aforesaid facts and submissions, it is prayed that the writ petition, being devoid of merit, deserves to be dismissed in the interest of justice and equity. 7. I have heard learned counsel for the respective parties and also perused the documents enclosed along with the petition. 8. The petitioners have primarily sought directions for regularization of their services with the Municipal Corporation, Bilaspur, grant of regular pay scale and consequential benefits, on the ground that they have rendered long and continuous service and that, upon inclusion of the concerned Panchayat areas into the Municipal Corporation, they stood absorbed as municipal employees. 16 9. It is not in dispute that the petitioners were initially engaged by different Gram Panchayats/Nagar Panchayats on temporary/daily wage basis as per local requirements and were never appointed against any sanctioned posts following a regular recruitment process. It is also evident from the record that even after inclusion of the Panchayat areas into the Municipal Corporation pursuant to the notification dated 20.08.2019, the petitioners continued to work as per administrative exigencies and their services were utilized as and when required. Merely because salaries of the petitioners were, for some period, disbursed by the Municipal Corporation, the same by itself does not create any indefeasible or vested right in favour of the petitioners for regularization or for grant of regular pay scale. It is a settled position of law that regularization cannot be claimed as a matter of right unless the initial appointment itself was made in accordance with the constitutional scheme, statutory rules and against sanctioned posts. The instructions dated 28.08.2019, relied upon by the petitioners, cannot be read to confer an automatic right of absorption or regularization. On the contrary, the said instructions also empower the Municipal Corporation to assess its requirement and to discontinue or not to take services of persons who are not required. 10. The record further shows that the petitioners are being engaged through the placement mechanism and their services are being utilized depending upon availability of work, which cannot be said 17 to be arbitrary or illegal. In view of the settled legal position governing regularization of daily wage/temporary employees, and considering the nature of initial engagement of the petitioners, this Court does not find any case in favour of the petitioners for issuance of a writ directing their regularization or grant of regular pay scale. However, it is also evident that the petitioners have been working with the Municipal Corporation for a considerable period and their services are being utilized for municipal works. Therefore, while declining the relief of regularization, it is observed that the Municipal Corporation is at liberty to take the services of the petitioners and to pass appropriate orders regarding their further engagement/employment in accordance with law. It is further observed that if any vacancy arises in future and a recruitment process is undertaken by the Municipal Corporation in accordance with law, the Corporation may consider the previous service rendered by the petitioners and may accord them appropriate preference, if permissible under the applicable rules and policy. 11. Subject to the aforesaid observations, all the writ petitions stand dismissed. No order as to costs. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Shayna JUDGE