CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the state government to regularise the services of three petitioners who were appointed as junior clerks under the School and Mass Education department, quashing their contractual appointments.
Delivering the verdict on Monday on a writ petition filed by Ajit Kumar Nayak and two others, Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad held that the trio was entitled to be treated as regular employees from the beginning, and directed the authorities to grant all consequential benefits to them within eight weeks.
The core grievance of the petitioners, who participated in the recruitment process initiated via advertisement dated February 28, 2011, revolved around the transformation of a recruitment process for 289 regular posts of junior clerks into a contractual one. The petitioners, after clearing the written examination and interviews, were issued appointment orders only to find that their appointments had been rendered contractual.
Counsel for the petitioners argued that such a change in the nature of appointment lacked legal backing and violated established norms of recruitment. The court agreed with the contention, observing that once the recruitment process had begun under existing rules, its character could not be altered arbitrarily.
“The consideration lacks legal approach and does not address the matter on merits,” Justice Shripad noted in his judgement, directing the authorities concerned to treat the petitioners as regular employees from the beginning.