1. ' Ghulam Rubbani and others filed the present petition against the Divisional Superintendent, Pakistan Railways, Rawalpindi under section 25-A of the I. R.
2. 0., 1969 for the enforcement of the guaranteed and secured rights of the petitioners with respect to their confirmation in terms of Pakistan Railway Gazette Notification Extraordinary dated 18th January, 1975. The petitioners have been alleged that the petitioners I to 12 are working as Air- Conditioned Coach Attendants against the permanent vacancy in Pakistan Railways and their record of service is given in Exh. P. W. 1/2. The petitioners 13 to 20 are working as Assistant Air- Conditioned Coach Attendants against the permanent vacancies in the Pakistan Railways and their services record including their date of appointment act, are mentioned in Exh. P. W. 1/3. All the petitioners have completed 15 years of service against their respective categories of posts and have also completed training for the maintenance and running of Air-Conditioned Coaches. They have also met the prerequisite qualification from the Railway institute and are eligible for confirmation against their respective posts. After the completion of their training the petitioners were designated as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant staff and since the date of completion of their training, they have been working as Air-Conditioned Coaches staff attached to Air-Conditioned Coaches of Pakistan Railways and each of the petitioners is qualified for confirmation against which he is working. That according to the Gazette Notification of Pakistan Railways published on 8th January, 1975 Exh. P. W. 1/9 the petitioners were given right of confirmation against their posts after completion of service for a period of three years against their respective posts. The petitioners were not confirmed therefore they served grievance notice on the respondent on 22nd October, 1976 which went unresponded. The respondent have confirmed various incumbents in the categories of Air-Conditioned Coaches Staff in Punjab in terms of the aforesaid notification but in respect of the employees working on North-West Frontier Province, against the similar posts the respondent has resorted to discrimination and hence the present petition.
3. ' The written Statement has been filed, on 28th February, 1977, wherein various legal and factual pleas have been raised. It has been denied that the petitioners are working against the permanent posts of Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants.
4. It has also been denied that the petitioners have undergone training. However, it has been admitted in para. 5 of the written statement that the petitioners are working as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants intermitently and not regularly. Exh. P. W. 1/10 is the notification issued by Assistant Personnel Officer of Pakistan Railways, Rawalpindi whereby the decision of the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal, Lahore dated nth June, 1978 was implemented and those persons working as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants were confirmed from the date shown against each.
5. P. W. 1 Nisar Ahmad substantiated the case of the petitioners. Exh. P. W. 1/4 is the joint appeal filed by the petitioners with postal receipt Exh. P. W. 1/5 and Exh. P. W. 1/6. The respective A. D. Cards are Exh. P. W. 1/7 and Exh. P. W. 1/8. Exh. P. W. 114 which is on appeal is considered as Grievance notice.
6. The Air-Conditioned Coaches Staff has been declared as running Staff by the West Pakistan Industrial Court in their Award in Industrial Dispute Case No, 73 of 1976 which has been published in Gazette Notification of the Government of Pakistan Labour Department dated 8th October, 1966. It has been admitted by this witness that initially all the petitioners were recruited as Electrical Examiner and subsequently promoted to the present assignment as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants after the trade test. Their duties was to look after the Air-Conditioned Coaches. P, W. Nizamuddin, L. D. C. Has appeared as witness of the petitioner and supported the case of the petitioners. Allah Ditta Khokhar appeared as witness of the respondent and has stated that Nisar Ahmad has since been dismissed from service. The name of Nisar Alrnaad has been subsequently deleted from the lists of the petitioners. The witness has contended that there is no post known as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and as the petitioners are working on Air-Conditioned Coaches therefore they are called as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants. However there is no such cadre. Moreover the petitioners do not work regularly on the Air-Conditioned Coaches. On cross-examination of this witness has admitted correct the entries in Exh. P. W. 1/2 and Exh. P. W. 1/3. He has also admitted that the persons mentioned in Exh. P. W. 1/2 and Exh. P. W. 1/3 are working on Air-Conditioned Coaches on rotation basis. This fact is deposed by the witness from his knowledge and not from record. He has admitted that in 24th October, 1976, such incumbants, were confirmed against the post of Air- Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants. In consequence of the decision of the Labour Appellate Tribunal, Lahore he has also admitted correct that the petitioners were first given training and were then appointed on the Air-Conditioned Coaches as Attendant. He also admits to have received grievance notice copy Exh. P. W. 1/4 and has conceded that no reply has been given to the said notice. On the one hand he says that there is no cadre of Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants but admits that he deals with the dismissal, discharge and other punishment in respect of the Air-Conditioned Coaches and Assistant Air- Conditioned Coaches Attendants only and also deal with the terms and conditions of Air- Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants.
7. ' From the evidence it is clear that the petitioners are working as Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants from the date shown in Exh. P. W. 1/2 and Exh. P. W. 1/3. They have completed training after due training they have been. Assigned the jobs as Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and are attending to this job. It has been held in the Award referred to above that the petitioner are entitled to confirmation according to the Notification Exh. P. W. 1/9 after having completed three years of service as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendant and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants. The major portion of the claim of the petitioners has been admitted by P. W. 1 in his statement recorded in the Court. This witness is the incharge of the record of service of Air- Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air Conditioned Coaches Attendants and the claim of the respondent that there is no such cadre is belied from statement of this witness who admits that there is difference in pay scales of Electrical Examiner and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants. It has also been admitted that the petitioners have been assigned the job of the Air Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants after having under gone requisite training. It has been proved that in Punjab Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants who have completed the years of service as such have been confirmed vide notification Exh. P. W. 1/10. The contention of the respondent establishment is that there is no cadre of Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants is not tenable because Pakistan Railways happens to be a single institute responsible for the railways in the entire country and when there is cadre of Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants in Punjab it is inconceivable that while this cadre exist in Punjab it would not exist in North-West Frontier Province. It may be that prior to introduction of Air-Conditioned Coaches in Pakistan Railway there may have been no such cadre but after introduction of Air-Conditioned Coaches there must be running staff looking after Air-Conditioned Coaches too otherwise it would not be possible for the railways to maintain Air-Conditioned Coaches in operation. Hence I hold that in the light of the above consideration there does exist Air- Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants cadre. That the petitioners are working as Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants as described in Exh. P. W. 1/2 and P. W. 1/3 and they are entitled to confirmation as such three years after completion of their services as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches attendants against the same posts. The contention that the notification Exh. P. W. 1/9 was issued on 18th January, 1975 and the petition has been filed on 15th January. 1977 and is therefore time barred has get no force because the cause of action of the petitioners is a continuous one and they have get their rights to seek redress as long as this grievance exists and the period of limitation would be reckoned from the day to day and from the date of notification. Therefore, I order that the petitioners shall be confirmed as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistant Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants with effect from the date of their appointment as Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants and Assistants Air-Conditioned Coaches Attendants.