High Court · 2025

WPSS No. 2448 of 2024 Wit h WPSS No. 579 of 2024 WPSS No. 2494 of 2024 WPSS No. 32 of 2025 WPMS No. 774 of 2025 WPMS No. 775 of 2025 H o n ’ b l e M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J 1. Mr. V.B.S. Negi, learned Senior Counsel wit h Mr . Bhuwan Bhat t , Vikas Pande and Mr. Yogesh Kum ar Pacholia, learned counsel for t he pet it ioner s. 2. Mr. Narayan Dut t , learned St anding Counsel for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand. 3. Mr. Neeraj Gar g, learned counsel for t he r espondent - UPNL. 4. Mr. Sandeep Kot hari, learned counsel for t he r espondent - Universit y.

5. Since com m on quest ions of fact and involv ed t hese pet it ions, law are t hese pet it ions are clubbed t her efore, t oget her and decided by t his com m on j udgm ent . Howev er, for t he sak e of br evit y and conv enience, fact s of WPSS No. 579 of 2024 alone are being consider ed and discussed. ‘C’ and Group

6. Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No. 579 of 2024 is filed by 44 per sons, w ho w ere engaged on cont ract t hrough UPNL for perform ing dut ies ‘D’ em ployees. of Group According t o pet it ioner s, t hey w er e engaged in Ut t arakhand Ay urved Universit y bet w een 2013 t o 2021 and t hey cont inuously ser ved as such, t o t he sat isfact ion of all concerned, t ill January, 2024. According t o pet it ioners, in January, 7. 2024, t hey w er e disengaged for m service wit hout any rhy m e and reason. Feeling aggrieved disengagem ent , t heir pet it ioners filed t his writ pet it ion seeking t he following reliefs: - ( i) issue wr it order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us direct ing t he respondent no. 1, 2 and 3 t o perm it t he pet it ioners t o cont inue t heir engagem ent against t heir respect ive post in t he Universit y and pay t hem salary/ rem unerat ion on m ont hly basis. ( ii) issue wr it order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us direct ing t he respondent no. 2 and 3 t o pay t he ar rears of t he salary/ rem unerat ion t o t he pet it ioners which has not been paid from t he m ont h of Novem ber, 2023 t o t ill dat e. ( iii) issue wr it order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us direct ing t he respondent no. 1, 2 & 3 not t o int erfere in t he peaceful funct ioning of t he pet it ioners or not t o change and alt er t he st at us of t he pet it ioners.

8. Lear ned counsels for t he pet it ioners have relied upon an order dat ed 25.04.2024 passed by Division Bench of t his Court in SPA No. 116 of 2024. Oper at ive port ion of t he said order is ext ract ed below: - “ 7. On t he next dat e of hearing, learned counsel for respondent nos. 2 and 3 w ill clar ify as t o when t he advert isem ent for filling up t he post s by way of regular select ion is going t o be m ade, and t ill t hen, t he appellant s w ill cont inue t o work.

8. Count er- affidavit be filed w it hin four weeks.

9. List t his m at t er on 24.07.2024.

10. Respondent s will not m ake any appoint m ent t hrough out sourcing before st art ing t he regular select ion and along wit h t he count er- affidavit , advert isem ent will be placed on record.”

9. Mr. V.B.S. Negi, learned Senior Counsel appearing for t he pet it ioner s point s out t hat pur suant t o order dat ed 25.04.2024 passed by Division Bench, 42 cont ract em ploy ees, engaged t hrough out sourcing, wer e dat ed t hey are cont inuously 11.09.2024 and serving t her eaft er . re- engaged,

10. Mr. Bhuwan Bhat t , learned counsel appearing for pet it ioners in WPSS No. 2448 of 2024 subm it s t hat on 11.09.2024 it self, anot her or der was issued by Regist r ar of t he Univer sit y, wher eby 93 cont ract em ployees wer e disengaged, including som e pet it ioners in t hese writ pet it ions. t he issuing Univ er sit y t he Univ ersit y subm it s

11. Mr. Sandeep Kot hari, learned counsel t hat select ion process was init iat ed for supplying available vacancies on Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ post s advert isem ent , howev er , it w as lat er found t hat t here ar e no Rules gover ning m ode of recr uit m ent for cert ain post s and various ot her anom alies wer e also found, t her efore, Univer sit y request ed t he St at e Gov ernm ent t o cancel t he select ion process. He, t hus, is no concedes select ion ongoing in respect of t he available vacancies. t hat as of now , t her e ‘C’ and Group t hat St at e Governm ent ,

12. Lear ned counsel for Universit y furt her subm it s Governm ent Order dat ed 25.04.2025 has rest rained t he Universit y from engaging any ‘D’ em ployee on Group cont ract or t hrough out sourcing against any sanct ioned vacant post . He subm it s t hat pur suant t o order s passed by t his Court in Writ Pet it ions as well as in Special Appeal, Univer sit y request ed t he St at e Gov ernm ent t o grant perm ission t o com ply t he order passed by t his Court by re- engaging t he cont ract em ployees, howev er, he concedes t hat dat ed aft er Governm ent Order 25.04.2025, no furt her com m unicat ion was issued by t he Univ ersit y.

13. From t he subm issions m ade by lear ned counsel for t he Univer sit y, t his Court can gat her t hat Univer sit y is also facing difficult y in m anaging it s affairs due t o large num ber of vacancies on Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ post s. Som e of t he pet it ioner s have been serving on cont ract for last m ore t han t en years; t heir wor k and conduct has been t her efore, disengaging such cont ract em ploy ees, w ho rendered sat isfact ory service for long period of t im e, wit hout any reason or j ust ificat ion, does not appear t o be proper. Moreover, no sat isfact ory, t o Univer sit y can be run wit hout sufficient num ber of t eaching and non- t eaching st aff.

14. I n such view of t he m at t er, t he writ pet it ions ar e disposed of wit h a dir ect ion t o Secr et ary, Depart m ent of AYUSH t o re- visit t he Policy cont ained in Gover nm ent Or der dat ed 25.04.2025 and consider grant ing t o engage per m ission cont ract em ploy ees, t he available vacancies ar e filled by r egularly em ployees select ed persons. t he Univ ersit y t ill t o

15. This Court hopes and ex pect s t hat Secr et ary concerned shall t ake decision in t he m at t er wit hin six w eeks from t he dat e of present at ion of cert ified copy of t his order .

16. Such of t he pet it ioner s, w ho hav e not been paid rem unerat ion, even t hough t hey rendered ser vice as cont ract em ployee, shall be at libert y t o m ake repr esent at ion for The out st anding release represent at ion, if m ade by such em ployees, shall be decided by Regist rar of t he Univer sit y, wit hin four weeks from t he dat e of receipt of cert ified copy of t his or der. dues.

17. For a period of eight w eek s or t ill pet it ioners ar e r e- engaged, w hichev er earlier, such of t he pet it ioners, w ho hav e been provided official accom m odat ion, shall not be asked t o vacat e t he sam e. ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J)

24.09.2025 Aswal NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=eacc6757ee7881e933ff8934f07477005aa85f9802a3a08b08d1369512ea30f3, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=44EB54CBF00B7698CB6F10C2CE3D26F5C22DACF4F4610C1FE58A58531726F BB0, cn=NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL