CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the State government to regularise posts of at least 9,000 salesmen and packers working in co-operative societies across the State. The posts were filled through direct recruitment before March 12, 2001, and not through the employment exchange.
During the hearing on a batch of pleas moved by several employees, the State submitted that in March 2001, a GO was passed through which the registrar of co-operative societies was vested with the power to regularise services of employees appointed after July 1980 by irregular appointments and not through employment exchange, provided they completed 480 days of continuous service in 24 months.
The petitioners argued that they were put to distress due to the government’s administrative delay, and that their appointments were in no way illegal. “No monetary benefit is being sought. The petitioners are only seeking regularisation of their jobs,” the counsel for the petitioners said. Services of around 26,000 employees were regularised earlier. However, the jobs of the petitioners and similarly placed staff were not regularised.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh observed, “It is an unfortunate case wherein the petitioners are facing the wrath of destiny. By the time their regularisation was due, the laws for appointments were changed as the Supreme Court had strongly condemned back door recruitment in co-operative societies.”
Citing the SC judgment, he pointed out that the apex court had differentiated between irregular and illegal appointments, and directed that all employees who have fulfilled the eligibility criteria must be regularised within eight weeks. “The regularisation will not entail any additional monetary benefits, except the benefits which result from such regularisation,” the judge added.