Punjab & Haryana High Court Directs State To Regularize Clerk After Over 30 Years Of Service

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has directed the State to regularise the services of a clerk in the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, in accordance with a 2011 Punjab Government circular.

Under the circular, it was decided that services of daily wage or work charge employees with 10 years of service as of December 2006, can be considered for regularisation. However, the petitioner, who was initially appointed in November 1996, was denied the benefit as her service was not continuous due to her wrongful removal from service in 1997. She was later ordered to be reinstated by the Labour Court.

Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma said the petitioner Pushpa Devi would be entitled to the benefit of the 2011 circular and she is entitled to be regularized.

"Since the petitioner was appointed in 1996, as on December, 2006 she would be deemed to have put in 10 years of service and the view taken by the department is apparently erroneous as the award passed by the Labour Court/Industrial Tribunal was not challenged by the respondents. It has attained finality granting 50% back wages resulting in the petitioner’s services to be treated as continuous from the date of initial appointment" said the court.

Justice Sharma rejected the State's contention that the petitioner would not be entitled to the benefit of regularization since she has not completed a 120-hour computer course from any recognised institution.

"The petitioner who has already put in about 30 years of service cannot be denied benefit of regularization on account of the said aspect. It is the duty of the State Government and its department to provide opportunity to its employees especially a female employee to be given benefit of higher education by sending her for further training. The same can also be done after having regularized her on the said post," said the court.

The court was hearing Pushpa Devi's plea seeking regularization on the post of Clerk and quashing of the decision taken by the Chief Engineer. It was submitted that she was appointed as a Bill Clerk in November, 1996 on daily wages basis in the office of the Superintending Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Circle, Ludhiana where she worked continuously up to February, 1997.

While the counsel representing Pushpa Devi argued that her period of service has to be counted from the date of her initial appointment from 1996 as she was "wrongfully retrenched" in 1997, the State argued that the period during which Pushpa was out of job cannot be counted for the purpose of considering her case for regularization. 

While allowing the petition, the court said, “the order passed by the Chief Engineer dated 20.04.2015 is hereby quashed. The respondents are directed to pass orders accordingly within a period of 3 months with all consequential benefits.”

Case Title: Pushpa Devi v. State of Punjab and others

Appearance: Advocates P.K. Goklaney with Ashish Goklaney for the petitioner.

Vishnav Gandhi, DAG, Punjab for respondent.

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