Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 27: High Court today said that it can’t direct the continuation of services of employees engaged on contractual basis in the Health Department 10 years ago.
The employees working in the Government Dental College (GDC) and Hospital Srinagar on academic arrangements had approached the High Court seeking continuation of their services as also subsequently regularization on the ground that they have been holding their posts by virtue of their selection made by the duly constituted selection Committee, and till date, no selection has been made against these posts, therefore, they have every right to continue till the posts are filled up substantively by proper selection by the competent board/authority.
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The Division Bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Rajesh Sekhri refused to grant any of the reliefs to these employees citing that the respondent-authorities being employers, are well within their rights to determine the necessity and requirement of the staff.
The bench further observed that once the respondent-authorities are not in need of the services of the petitioner-employees, no direction can be issued to the authorities to continue the engagement of these contractual employees, till the posts are filled by normal selection process, more particularly when they have already been disengaged.
“Merely because the Government Medical College, Srinagar, and Government Medical College, Anantnag, have initiated the process for engaging the staff on academic arrangement basis, the petitioners cannot claim any benefit, as the requirements of different institutions are different”, the DB recorded.
“In view of what has been said and discussed, no direction can be issued to the respondents to continue the engagement of the petitioners. However, in case the respondents resort to engagement on academic arrangement basis/contractual appointment against the posts held by the petitioners prior to their disengagement, the petitioners shall have the first right of consideration as well as engagement”, DB concluded.
The court has been apprised by the Government counsel that the petitioners have worked for longer duration only under the benefit of judicial orders, as such, cannot claim any right of regularization as they have voluntarily agreed to the terms and conditions of the service, which is maximum for a period of six years.
In its rebuttal, the petitioner counsel stated before the court that they (petitioners)have been working against clear vacancies and in the present scenario, because of their knowhow and experience, the services of the petitioners are indeed required by the hospital for its smooth functioning and further they have been appointed pursuant to a selection undertaken by a duly constituted committee, as such, there should be no objection in regularizing the services of the petitioners. The petitioners have also filed written submissions in support of their claim.
The Administrative Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department was directed to state as to how the affairs are being run by the authorities in absence of the petitioners and he in his affidavit narrated that General Administration Department in the year 2022 intimated all the Administrative Secretaries that all the posts referred to JKPSC/JKSSB prior to 31.10.2019, for which the selections have not been finalized till date, as also the pots in which there are litigations and the cases are pending before the Court(s), shall be deemed to have been withdrawn with immediate effect.
“The matter of recruitment was taken up with the Finance Department, who in turn advised the department to draft the recruitment rules in consultation with the ARI and Trainings Department and all the proposals regarding referral of vacancies were kept withheld till the recruitment rules are finalized”, he submitted.
The court in absence of petitioners asked the authorities as to what kind of arrangement has been made in order to avoid adverse impact on patient care and the Administrative Secretary in this regard informed the court that the work done by the petitioners on the posts held by them, is being duly taken care of and properly discharged by the available staff with Government Dental College, Srinagar, without any adverse impact on patient care, therefore, the recruitment on academic arrangement / contractual basis against the said posts would not be done in future.
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