Now a clerk, now a chhakda driver, now a clerk again…

Yogesh Kelaiya had no idea he would be played by destiny like a ping-pong ball when he joined Jetpur municipality as a clerk in 1989. Thrown out of job in 1990, he turned to the court for justice. Varying orders by labour court and HC kept his future in a flux, forcing him to drive a chhakda to make ends meet. Now, 28 years later, he has won the case in HC

Meet a clerk-turnedchhakda driver-turnedclerk- turned-chhakda driver who is likely to become a clerk again at 53, almost three decades after his court battle against a local civic body began. Multiple twists of fate have left Yogesh Kelaiya struggling to run his family comprising a 100-year-old mother, a sister estranged from her husband, a sister-in-law and her two kids. But not the one to lose hope, he doggedly pursued the court battle against Jetpur municipality “for respect from the society and a life of dignity”.

Gujarat High Court has now ruled in his favour and asked Jetpur municipality to reinstate him as clerk, 28 years after he was thrown out of service “without being given a reason”. “As it was not a permanent position, the municipality relieved me from service without citing a reason. They should have given me prior notice, pay benefits and notice pay. The labour court had also ruled in my favour, but I lost the case in the HC which ruled in the favour of municipality. So I filed an appeal and now the HC has ruled in my favour,” Kelaiya said.

Details of the case

As per the case details, Kelaiya joined the municipality as naka clerk on a temporary basis on the fixed salary of Rs 850 per month. He worked from April 5, 1989 to December 27, 1990. He was then removed from service without being given benefits. So, he filed apetition with the labour court in Rajkot and began driving a chhakda rickshaw to earn his livelihood.

“At 25, I joined the municipality as a clerk in the octroi department but few of us were removed from service. I was not called for duty and was told that my services were not required. So Idecided to fight the case in the labour court and in the meantime, began driving the chhakda to feed my family,” said Kelaiya, who earns between Rs 100-200 a day as chhakda driver.

In 2007, things again started looking up for him after the labour court ruled in his favour and Gujarat HC asked Jetpur municipality to reinstate him. The happiness was short-lived as HC, following an appeal by the municipality, ruled against him in 2014. “In 2014, the HC issued final order in the favour of the municipality and I was removed from service again. Once again I had to turn to driving the loading rickshaw for a living,” he said.

But he was determined he would not go down without a fight. So, he filed an appeal before a two-judge bench of the HC. Last week, the high court upheld the labour court’s order of 2006. “Now the two-judge bench of the high court has ordered the municipality to reinstate me. I will meet my lawyer and convey to the municipality that I should get back my job,” said Kelaiya, who is optimistic he will be taken in on a permanent basis this time.

Kelaiya’s main contention was that the municipality did not follow the procedure as required under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. “His termination was in breach of Section 25 (F) of the Act as he had completed not less than 240 days during the service when he was retrenched the first time,” said Dipesh Chhaya, his lawyer.

He said, “The HC has asked the municipality to reinstate the petitioner after observing that he was retrenched without any notice or notice pay in breach of provisions of the Act.” Kelaiya, meanwhile, is eagerly awaiting the job. “If I am taken back, I will get a minimum daily wage of Rs 33o. As of now I do not earn much. The job of the clerk will earn me respect from the society and that makes this fight worth it,” he said.