Contractual paramedical staff regularization scope
subrata panja
(Querist) 17 March 2014
This query is : Resolved
Respected Members,
I am a contractual Paramedical staff under Indian railway.In the railway there are many persons who are engaged as "Contractual Paramedical staff"(Group-C)since a long period and serving as the regular employee.I like to know is there any scope to regularization of such employees and any example of this type of regularization process is available as ready reference?
Anirudh
(Expert) 17 March 2014
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of The Secretary, State of Karnataka and others vs. Uma Devi and others (2006) 4 SCC 1 has held that:
No employment can be made outside the constitutional scheme. What is 'the constitutional scheme' has also been laid down by the SC. According to the SC, regular appointments must be the Rule. But sometimes the departments and instrumentalities have resorted to irregular appointments especially in the lower rungs of the service, without reference to the duty to ensure a proper appointment procedure through the Public Service Commissions or otherwise as per the rules adopted and to permit these irregular appointees or those appointed on contract or on daily wages, to continue year after year, thus, keeping out those who are qualified to apply for the post concerned and depriving them of an opportunity to compete for the post. It has also led to persons who get employed, without following regular procedure or even through the back door or on daily wages, approaching the Courts, seeking directions to make them permanent in their posts and to prevent regular recruitment to the post concerned. Any recruitment to the service in the State or in the Union is to be governed by the Acts, rules and regulations made by the States. The Constitution does not envisage any employment outside this constitutional scheme and without following the requirements set down therein.
It was also held / clarified that regularization already make but not subjudice need not be reopened but there should be no further by-passing of the constitutional requirement and regularising or making permanent those not duly appointed as per the constitutional scheme.
Having so held, the Supreme Court also made an exception to the above general principles laid down by it. The exception to the general principle against 'regularization' is applicable if the following conditions are fulfilled:-
(i) The employee concerned should have worked for 10 years or more in duly sanctioned post without the benefit or protection of the interim order of any court or tribunal. In other words, the State Government or its instrumentality should have employed the employee and continued him in service voluntarily and continuously for more than ten years.
(ii) The appointment of such employee should not be illegal, even if irregular. Where the appointments are not made or continued against sanctioned posts or where the persons appointed do not possess the prescribed minimum qualifications, the appointments will be considered to be illegal. But where the person employed possessed the prescribed qualifications and was working against sanctioned posts, but had been selected without undergoing the process of open competitive selection, such appointments are considered to be irregular.
Uma Devi casts a duty upon the concerned Government or instrumentality, to take steps to regularize the services of those irregularly appointed employees who had served for more than ten years without the benefit or protection of any interim orders of courts or tribunals, as a one-time measure. Umadevi, directed that such one-time measure must be set in motion within six months from the date of its decision."
The decision in Uma Devi's case was rendered in the year 2006, now 7 years have gone by.
It is not clear as to when you and your other colleagues were engaged. It is also not clear whether you are a direct contract employee or you are employed through a contractor.
Rajendra K Goyal
(Expert) 17 March 2014
Answer the questions raised by the expert Anirudh ji.
However, such decisions are political and continuous approaching through the political avenue may fetch earlier fruits.
