Punjab and Haryana High Court for equal treatment, directs BBMB to regularise contract staff

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, November 21

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declared that the state, as a model employer, was obligated to treat all employees performing the same set of duties equally. The assertion came as Justice Jagmohan Bansal directed the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) to regularise all the employees before fixing their seniority from the date of their appointment as contractual employees.

Petitioners overage, can’t apply elsewhere

• Justice Jagmohan Bansal said the petitioners, appointed between 2015 and 2018, could very well be adjusted.
• They were trained employees and many of them had become overage and could not apply anywhere else.
• There was restlessness among the employees following job uncertainty and lesser emoluments than regular employees though they were performing same duties.

Taking up a bunch of seven petitions against the board and other respondents, Justice Bansal also made it clear that Gopal Singh and other petitioners would be entitled to all consequential benefits but not to any financial benefit for the past period.

Justice Bansal said the respondent board followed all rules and regulations meant for appointment of regular employees before appointing the petitioners. There was no irregularity in their appointment.

The board’s selection committee recommended the appointment of all petitioners after following due procedure prescribed for appointment of regular employees.

Besides this, no irregularity/dereliction either in their appointment or their act and conduct had been noticed.

Their matter was repeatedly taken up by board in its meeting. However, a final decision could not be arrived at due to a lack of consensus.

The board did not regularise the petitioners because of objection by one or another board member on the ground of financial implications.

Taking note of the fact that the respondent was having 1,922 vacancies, Justice Bansal observed that it was evident from the minutes of the board meetings that the respondent had repeatedly accepted the existence of a huge number of posts.

Justice Bansal said the petitioners, appointed between 2015 and 2018, could very well be adjusted. The petitioners were trained employees and many of them had become overage and could not apply anywhere else.

There was restlessness among the employees following job uncertainty and lesser emoluments than regular employees though they were performing same duties. Justice Bansal added the petitioners despite performing same duties and subjected to same rules and regulations as applicable to regular employees were getting lesser pay than regular employees.

The respondent board was following the rules and regulations framed by state of Punjab and the PSPCL. However, being an autonomous body, it was not bound to follow all the rules and regulation framed by the state and PSPCL, which from time to time regularised its employees initially appointed on contract basis.

“The board is not bound to follow rules and regulations followed by the state of Punjab and PSPCL. However, there is persuasive value of rules framed by the PSPCL because respondent board is following most of rules and regulations framed or followed by the PSPCL,” Justice Bansal added, while setting aside impugned orders whereby their representations for regularisation were rejected.

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