High Court · 2025

challenged t he said advert isem ent issued on

13.10.2023 on t he ground t hat since pet it ioners were subst ant ively appoint ed, t herefore, t here cannot be any regular appoint m ent against t he post s, which are held by pet it ioners.

3. Learned counsel appearing for pet it ioners relies upon definit ion of t he t erm ‘subst ant ive appoint m ent ’ as given in Rule 3( 1) ( q) of t he Recruit m ent Rules, not ified on 31.08.2021. The sam e is ext ract ed below: - “ 3 ( 1) ( q) . ‘Subst ant ive Appoint m ent ’ m eans an appoint m ent , not being an adhoc appoint m ent , on a post in t he cadre of t he service m ade aft er select ion in accordance wit h t he rules and, if t here are no rules, in accordance wit h t he procedure prescribed, for t he t im e being by t he execut ive inst ruct ions issued by t he Governm ent .” 2

4. The cont ent ion based on Rule 3 ( 1) ( q) of t he Recruit m ent Rules is bereft of m erit . As per Rule 3 ( 1) ( q) , ad- hoc or cont ract ual appoint m ent do not qualify t o be a subst ant ive appoint m ent and only a person, who is appoint ed t o a post in t he cadre aft er due select ion as per t he Rules, can be t o be subst ant ively appoint ed and t he absence of Recruit m ent Rules, anyone w ho appoint ed as per t he procedure prescribed by execut ive inst ruct ions against a sanct ioned post can also be t reat ed as subst ant ively appoint ed, provided such appoint m ent was m ade aft er select ion, in w hich all eligible candidat es had t he opport unit y t o part icipat e.

5. Perusal of t he docum ent s enclosed w it h t he w rit pet it ion reveal t hat in view of t he request m ade by Chairm an, Perm anent Lok Adalat , t he out sourcing agency ( UPNL) sponsored pet it ioners for serving on cont ract as Munsirim / Reader and t erm and condit ions of t heir engagem ent were indicat ed in a writ t en cont ract execut ed bet ween UPNL and Perm anent Lok Adalat .

6. Learned counsel t he pet it ioners cont ends t hat pet it ioners were engaged aft er due select ion, t herefore, t heir engagem ent cannot be referred as irregular and t hey cannot be disengaged, however t here is no m at erial on record 3 t o show t hat pet it ioners were engaged aft er facing process of select ion in which all eligible persons had opport unit y t o part icipat e.

7. From t he m at erial on record, it is revealed t hat Chairm an, Perm anent Lok Adalat asked t he out sourcing agency t o supply m anpower and UPNL in t urn, sponsored nam e of t he pet it ioners; t he process of select ion does not appear t o have undert aken w hile sponsoring t he nam e pet it ioners. Even ot herw ise also, regist rat ion w it h UPNL ( out sourcing agency) does not involve select ion and any person who m eet s t he eligibilit y crit eria can get him self regist ered, who t hen can be sponsored for em ploym ent . The writ pet it ion is absolut ely silent regarding t he st age at which pet it ioners were subj ect ed t o process of select ion.

8. I n t he present case, pet it ioners are not direct ly em ployed by t he Perm anent Lok Adalat , but t hey are engaged t hrough UPNL, which is an agency form ed t o supply m anpower. A cont ract ual em ployee engaged t hrough UPNL cannot be t reat ed as subst ant ively appoint ed in Perm anent Lok Adalat . Thus, pet it ioners do not have any right t o hold t he post .

9. The agreem ent execut ed bet w een Chairm an, Perm anent Lok Adalat and Ut t arakhand Purva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Lt d. ( UPNL) is enclosed as Annexure- 6 t o t he writ pet it ion. The workm en, 4 which UPNL undert ook t o supply, are indicat ed in Clause 2 of t he cont ract . Clause 3 indicat es t hat cont ract was for a durat ion of 11 m ont hs. The wages payable t o t he out sourced workm en are indicat ed in Clause 4. Clause 7 indicat es t hat t he am ount payable as wages, shall be paid by Perm anent Lok Adalat t o UPNL and UPNL shall ensure paym ent t hereof t o t he workm en.

10. Learned St at e Counsel drew at t ent ion of t his Court t o Clause 21 & 22 of t he cont ract . Clause 21 ( b) provides t hat if perform ance of t he workm en sponsored by UPNL is not found sat isfact ory, t hen Perm anent Lok Adalat shall have t he right t o change such em ployee under int im at ion t o UPNL. Sub- clause ( c) of Clause 21 provides t hat if services of an out sourced em ployee are no m ore required due t o appoint m ent or t ransfer of regular em ployee in his place, t hen Perm anent Lok Adalat w ill give int im at ion of t he sam e t o t he em ployee, under int im at ion t o UPNL t o t erm inat e his/ her services. Clause 22 of t he cont ract furt her prov ides t hat cont ract ual em ployees, em ployed t hrough out sourcing, w ill not claim perm anent em ploym ent w it h Perm anent Lok Adalat .

11. Learned St at e Counsel subm it s t hat pursuant t o t he advert isem ent dat ed 13.10.2023, issued by respondent no. 1, select ion process concluded back, but , t he candidat es recom m ended for appoint m ent against vacancies in 5 Perm anent Lok Adalat , Dehradun are not able t o j oin dut ies because of int erim orders passed in t hese writ pet it ions. He subm it s t hat a cont ract ual em ployee cannot quest ion t he appoint m ent of regularly select ed candidat es and a casual em ployee, whet her ad- hoc or cont ract em ployee, can be perm it t ed t o cont inue only t ill j oining of regularly select ed candidat es and not t hereaft er.

12. This Court subst ance t he subm ission m ade by learned St at e Counsel. Pet it ioners were engaged on cont ract t hrough UPNL only t ill j oining of regularly select ed candidat es. Clause 21 ( c) of t he cont ract cont ains a clear st ipulat ion t o t his effect . The advert isem ent quest ion was issued on 13.10.2023, writ t en exam inat ion was held in Decem ber, 2023 and final result of t he select ion, was declared in t he m ont h of Oct ober, 2024. Candidat es recom m ended by respondent no. 1 were offered appoint m ent by Chairm an, Perm anent Lok Adalat , Dehradun vide dat ed

06.02.2025, however, t heir appoint m ent was subsequent ly cancelled

13.02.2025 because of t he int erim order passed in t hese writ pet it ions.

13. Law is well set t led t hat a person who is appoint ed aft er facing rigorous process of select ion held as per t he Recruit m ent Rules has a bet t er claim com pared t o t he one engaged by way of st op- gap arrangem ent , t ill regular select ion. Since 6 regularly select ed candidat es are now available, t herefore, pet it ioners have t o give way t o t he select ed candidat es.

14. Adm it t edly, pet it ioners w ere engaged by way of st op- gap arrangem ent , t herefore, t hey cannot claim a right bet t er t han t hat of t he persons recom m ended by t he Com m ission. The regularly select ed persons cannot be m ade t o wait , m erely because pet it ioners are now claim ing a right on t he post .

15. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners relied upon a j udgm ent rendered by Hon’ble Suprem e Court in t he case of Dharam Singh and ot hers v. St at e of U.P. and anot her, rendered in Civil Appeal No( s) . 8558 of 2018. Paragraph nos. 17 & 18 of t he said j udgm ent are reproduced below: - “ 17. Before concluding, we t hink it necessary t o recall t hat t he St at e ( here referring t o bot h t he Union and t he St at e governm ent s) is not a m ere m arket part icipant but a const it ut ional em ployer. I t cannot balance budget s on t he backs of t hose who perform t he m ost basic and recurring public funct ions. Where work recurs day aft er day and year aft er year, t he est ablishm ent m ust reflect t hat realit y it s sanct ioned st rengt h and engagem ent pract ices. The long- t erm ext ract ion regular labour t em porary labels corrodes confidence in public adm inist rat ion and offends t he prom ise of equal prot ect ion. Financial st ringency cert ainly has a place in public policy, but it is not a t alism an t hat overrides 7 fairness, reason and t he dut y t o organise work on lawful lines.

18. Moreover, it m ust necessarily be not ed t hat “ ad- hocism ” t hrives where adm inist rat ion is opaque. The St at e Depart m ent s m ust keep and produce accurat e est ablishm ent regist ers, m ust er rolls and out sourcing arrangem ent s, and t hey m ust explain, wit h evidence, t hey prefer precarious engagem ent over sanct ioned post s where t he work is perennial. I f “ const raint ” is invoked, t he record should show what alt ernat ives were considered, why sim ilarly placed workers were t reat ed different ly, and how t he chosen course aligns wit h Art icles 14, 16 and 21 of t he Const it ut ion of I ndia. Sensit ivit y t o t he hum an consequences prolonged insecurit y sent im ent alit y. I t is a const it ut ional discipline t hat should inform every decision affect ing t hose who keep public offices running.”

16. I n t he case of Dharam Singh ( supra) , request was m ade by U.P. Higher Educat ion Services Com m ission for creat ion of post of peon and driver t o accom m odat e t he appellant s who are serving as daily wager we.f. 1989 & 1992, how ever, t he request for creat ion of post s was repeat edly t urned down, consequent ly claim of t he appellant s for regularizat ion could not be considered. I n t hat backdrop, Hon’ble Suprem e Court m ade observat ions, as are cont ained in paragraph nos. 17 & 18 of t he j udgm ent . Here t he fact s are ent irely different . Pet it ioners were engaged t hrough out sourcing only in t he year 2021 and soon aft er t heir engagem ent , t he vacancies w ere not ified t o 8 general public by an advert isem ent . The select ion process is over and t he candidat es recom m ended by t he Com m ission have approached t he Perm anent Lok Adalat j oining. I n such circum st ances, pet it ioners, who were engaged t hrough out sourcing agency, cannot have any right bet t er t han t he right available t o candidat es recom m ended by t he Com m ission.

17. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioners also relies upon a j udgm ent rendered by Apex Court in t he case of Jaggo v. Union of I ndia and ot hers report ed in 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3826.

18. The said j udgm ent also is dist inguishable on fact s. The quest ion, which falls for considerat ion in t he present bat ch of writ pet it ions, is whet her t he cont ract em ployees, engaged t hrough out sourcing, can quest ion t he select ion held regular appoint m ent and whet her t he select ion process can be set aside on t he asking of such casual/ cont ract em ployees, who were asked t o discharge dut ies of t he post only t ill t he post s are filled by regular select ion.

19. As per t he exist ing law, out sourced em ployees do not have a vest ed right of regularizat ion. Moreover, no one regularizat ion aft er serving for only 3- 4 years on cont ract . Pet it ioners successfully challenged t he advert isem ent if it was int erfering 9 w it h a vest ed or accrued right of t heirs.

20. Learned St at e Counsel subm it t ing t hat upon com plet ion of select ion process and aft er issuance of appoint m ent let t er t o t he duly select ed candidat es, t he reliefs as claim ed by pet it ioners do not survive.

21. The int erim orders passed in t hese writ pet it ions cannot be ext ended any furt her, as pet it ioners do not have any right bet t er t han t hat of regularly select ed candidat es. Moreover, pet it ioners are not challenging t he order, whereby t heir engagem ent was discont inued, on t he ot her hand, t hey have challenged t he advert isem ent issued by t he select ing body, whereby applicat ions were invit ed from eligible candidat es regular appoint m ent against t he post s in quest ion.

22. Thus, t he relief as claim ed by t he pet it ioners cannot be grant ed. Writ pet it ions are m isconceived and ill advised, t herefore, t hey are liable t o be dism issed.

23. Accordingly, t he writ pet it ions dism issed. I nt erim orders passed t hese writ pet it ions are vacat ed. ________________________ M A N OJ K UM A R TI W A RI , J. Dt : 12.09.2025 Navin NAVEEN CHANDRA DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, 2.5.4.20=3be23325146e76a0642bdf4943fb9046f487df006da82a131bb4e 4403d3c0a15, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=18167EEFB5CA8CFFD421A103819DA875643AF56D653D0 95C6ED9A86DAAB21CE5, cn=NAVEEN CHANDRA 10