HYDERABAD: Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka of the Telangana High Court held that temporary paramedical staff working in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Ramachandrapuram are entitled to be appointed as permanent employees.
The court observed that petitioners — G Durga Prasad and 28 others — have been working for more than a decade despite being appointed on an ad-hoc basis. Their recruitment was conducted through employment exchanges, internal circulars, campus selections, written tests, and interviews, and thus, was neither irregular nor illegal.
Justice Nagesh noted that BHEL’s practice of giving "artificial breaks" between appointments amounted to unfair labour practices under Item No.10 of the Fifth Schedule of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. He ruled that continuing the petitioners on ad-hoc basis violated the law laid down by the Supreme Court in State of Karnataka vs Uma Devi.
Rejecting the company’s contention that the petitioners had knowingly accepted temporary employment, Justice Nagesh said such arguments "cannot be received" since the continuation of employees for years together “on ad-hoc basis is arbitrary and illegal.” Justice Nagesh directed that the petitioners are entitled to regular appointments with BHEL.