SC upholding contract staff rights, govt mulls options to avoid burden

With the Supreme Court upholding the High Court decision on grant of seniority and increments to contract employees, the Himachal government is exploring its options to avoid grant of benefits to the eligible employees at par with regular employees.

Anticipating a huge financial liability in case of an adverse court order, it was on December 20, 2024 that Himachal Vidhan Sabha had enacted and passed the Himachal Pradesh Recruitment and Conditions of Service Rules Bill, 2024. The Bill has become an Act with Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla giving assent on February 7 last week the possibility of the employees challenging it again in the apex court cannot be ruled out, resulting in a long drawn legal battle.

Now with the Supreme Court upholding the claim of contract employees, the state government is faced with a piquant legal position which is likely to be discussed at the Cabinet meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on February 13. The cash-strapped government is no position to bear the financial implication of the SC order.

The main objective cited by the state government while tabling the Bill in the Assembly was that this is being done in order to avoid a huge burden on the state exchequer and not unsettle the settled position, the Bill needs to be processed.

The Act denies contractual employees various service benefits given to regular employees, including seniority, promotion and increments. The Bill had been passed by the Assembly amidst protest by opposition BJP, terming it a draconian and anti-employee, being enforced retrospectively. The Act will deprive all contractual employees who joined service on December 12, 2003 or later with the benefits enjoyed by regular government employees.

“The implementation of the Supreme Court order will not just result in liability, running into several crores but the entire seniority lists for promotion will have to be revised, which can create a complex situation,” admitted a senior bureaucrat.

The main objective cited in the Bill when passed by the Assembly was that since appointments on contract have been made since 2003, treating them equivalent to regular employees will result in revision of seniority list of the last 21 years and many employees might have to be demoted to adjust the contract employees. “The persons engaged at time of their appointment were aware that they would not be entitled to seniority and other service benefits for the contract period of service,” is another reason cited for the enactment of the legislation. It was further pointed out that all such contract employees had signed on the contract, accepting the terms and conditions.