Regularisation of contractual employees is bad in law, rules Telangana HC

The High Court declared Section 10-A of 1994 Act ultra vires; however, contractual employees who were already regularised need not be terminated

Observing that exercising power to regularise contractual employees was not in consonance with law, Telangana High Court on Tuesday (November 19) said that henceforth the State government “shall fill up the posts in accordance with law and not by regularising the contractural employees”. 

Pronouncing verdict in a batch of writ petitions challenging the government’s action of regularising services of employees appointed on contract basis, a bench of Justices Sujoy Paul and Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao said that, however, contractual employees (who were already regularised) need not be terminated. The Bench declared ultra vires the Section 10-A of Telangana (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of Staff Pattern and Pat Structure) Act-1994 which empowered government to regularise contractual employees. 

The writ pleas were filed by different unemployed persons who challenged regularisation of the services of lecturers appointed on contract basis in junior, polytechnic and degree colleges. The petitioners claimed that they were post-graduates. While one of them was a Ph.D degree holder, two had qualified in State Eligibility Test and one had passed the National Eligibility Test.

They contended that while there were specific GOs and Rules to fill up the posts of lecturers in junior, polytechnic and degree colleges, contractural lecturers were appointed by College Development Committees which were created through an executive order under Article 162 of the Constitution through GO Ms. Nos. 142 and 143 in 2000 and GO Ms. no. 94 in 2003. 

According to them, the contractual appointments were made through back door by introducing Section 10-A through GO Ms. No. 16 of 2016 bypassing the specific rules for appointment of lecturers. While the government contended that Section 10-A was introduced exercising powers under Section 101 of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, the petitioners argued the same was illegal.

The Bench said that ‘it is clear like noon day that the Education Service Rules being statutory in nature were not repealed, modified or amended’. It held that statutory rules of pre-existence were in force, Section 10-A of the 1994 Act cannot prevail over the statutory rules. The Bench said it would agree with the contention of the petitioners that regularisation of contractual employees was bad in law, more-so when they were made against public policy. 

Published - November 19, 2024 09:09 pm IST