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Rajnish Kumar Mishra & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 1373Decided 13 Dec 2019
Civil Appeal Nos. 9413-9414 of 2019
Chief Justice S.A. Bobde · Justice B.R. Gavai · Justice Surya Kant

Background

The appellants were appointed on ad-hoc basis in the Ambedkar Nagar Judgeship in 1999-2001 and continued for years under court orders pending a recruitment process that was later cancelled. In 2012, a District Judge-constituted committee recommended their regularisation, and the then District Judge regularised their services, but his successor later declared this regularisation void, withdrew associated benefits, ordered recovery of emoluments, and ultimately terminated their services in 2017, all without a hearing. The Allahabad High Court upheld this reversal, including a cost order against the employees, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the successor District Judge's orders annulling the regularisation violated natural justice, since the employees were never given a hearing before their regularised status was undone. Relying on the exception in the Constitution Bench ruling in Umadevi for one-time regularisation of employees who had completed 10+ years of service, and noting parity with similarly placed employees granted relief in an earlier case along with a 2016 rule amendment fixing a cut-off date of 31.12.2001, the Court found the appellants squarely entitled to regularisation. It quashed the High Court's judgment, the District Judge's 2014 orders, and the termination, upheld the original 2012 regularisation order, and directed reinstatement with continuity of service (but without back wages for the out-of-service period).

Lesson Learnt

A government or judicial authority cannot withdraw an employee's already-granted regularisation or benefits without first giving them a fair hearing, and long-serving ad-hoc employees who cross the ten-year threshold recognised in the Umadevi case have a strong claim to one-time regularisation.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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