SC status quo on regularisation of contractual staff

CHANDIGARH: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered status quo while hearing a petition filed by the Haryana government challenging the decision of Punjab and Haryana high court to quash the regularisation policies for Class 2, 3 and 4 contractual employees working for the state government.

Around 4,600 contractual employees, as per government estimates, were adversely affected by the HC decision.

The HC had on May 31 quashed the four policies of 2014 framed under the previous Congress regime to regularise the services of contractual employees. The court said these policies of June 16, 2014, June 18, 2014 and July 7, 2014 have been framed in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court and deserve to be quashed. The HC also said that any benefit already granted to an employee shall be withdrawn.

Under fire for not defending the matter in the Supreme Court, the BJP government had announced that it would file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court. However, it was delayed by over two months. In the meantime, the employee unions mounted pressure on the state government to enact a law to protect the interests of the contractual employees. The state government, however, did not bring a bill and chose to file a SLP in the apex court.

The previous Congress government had in May 2014 blatantly ignored the advice of its law secretary and overlooked all legal aspects to toss yet another poll-centric annoucement of regularising the services of contractual and ad hoc employees.