Haryana policies on ad hoc staff quashed

Vijay Mohan

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday quashed four policies framed by the Haryana Government four years ago to regularise the services of contractual and ad hoc employees. The ruling has implications for several thousand employees.

“We find that the policies dated June 16, 2014, June 18, 2014 and July 7, 2014 (Group-B) and July 7, 2014 (Group-C and Group-D), having been framed in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court, deserve to be quashed,” a Division Bench comprising Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Anil Kshetrpal ruled while disposing of a bunch of petitions.

Framed by Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s government, the policy of June 18 provided that services of Group-C and Group-D employees, with a minimum of three years’ service as on May 28, 2014, be regularised. Under the policies of July 7, 2014, the government decided to regularise the services of Group-B as well as Group-C and Group-D employees completing 10 years of service as on December 31, 2018.

“As there are thousands of employees who had been appointed on ad hoc/contract/ work-charged/daily wages to take care of the work being carried out by them in different departments, we direct that they be allowed to continue for a period of six months, during which the state shall ensure that regular posts, wherever required, are advertised and the process of selection is completed,” the Bench directed.

Making it clear that under no circumstances would any temporary employee be allowed to continue thereafter, the court granted them a one-time relaxation in age limit to the extent of the period they have worked continuously in any temporary capacity.

Initially, the current ML Khattar government held the policies in abeyance. But in June 2015, it decided to implement these. A large number of petitions were filed against the polices on the grounds that these were illegal and against constitutional provisions. It was alleged that the state government, to gain political advantage in the 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls, was trying to lure the public with the candy of regular jobs to temporary staff.

Referring to an SC order of 2007, the petitioners argued that a five-Judge Bench had directed all states that the services of employees hired through the “back door” could not be regularised. It was also contended that the SC had made it clear that the government could not regularise the services of temporary staff without following the prescribed procedure.

“No one can claim any right on the basis thereof or take a plea that they had legitimately expected that with the appointment on temporary basis, in future their services would be regularised. In fact, neither such a promise can be made nor formation of such a scheme creates an enforceable right in favour of a person,” the Bench said.