Punjab: HC pulls up Centre for denying regular jobs to 13 employees.

Source – indianexpress.com

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has pulled up the Centre for denying the benefit of regularisation to some 13 employees of the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS Chandigarh) from their initial date of appointment and for making an overwriting in the communication regarding the regularisation.

The high court has observed that central government is expected to be “a role model” and “this type of colourable exercise of power” cannot stand the scrutiny of law.

“A careful perusal of the impugned letter itself … would also reveal that respondents were conscious of the same and initially in the impugned letter it was though typed out that the petitioners are entitled to regularisation with effect from the initial dates of their appointments, but as an after-thought while signing the same, it seems that there has been over-writing by the Signing Authority/ Competent Authority and the words “with effect from initial appointments” were changed to “with effect from 04.11.2015”,” read an order passed by a single bench.

In 2015, the high court has ordered the Centre to regularize the services of the employees, who had been working on contract since 2002, in accordance with the law. The employees were regularized in accordance with the order but not from the initial date of appointment. In 2016, the matter again reached the court.

In the judgement passed on November 22, the court has said the distinction created by the authorities in regularizing the services of the employees with effect from November 2015 is a colourable exercise of power and goes against the basic letter and spirit of judgment of 2015.

The Centre has been ordered to grant the benefit of regularisation of services from the initial date of appointment with all the consequential benefits including continuity of service.