Raman Singh v. District Inspector of Schools, Jalaun at Orai & Ors.
Background
The appellant was appointed as an ad hoc lecturer in a school in 1993 to cover a colleague's leave vacancy; that colleague died while on leave, and the school management then tried to absorb the appellant into the now-vacant substantive post without seeking proper approval or following a formal selection process. The District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) had, in fact, declined approval of this appointment years earlier as contrary to the applicable selection rules. The appellant continued working for over two decades under a series of interim court orders while his claim to a permanent post, and his salary, remained disputed; both the Single Judge and Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court ultimately ruled against him.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court agreed that an ad hoc appointment to cover a temporary leave vacancy cannot, without a proper selection process, mature into a substantive, permanent appointment, so the appellant had no legal right to be made a regular lecturer. However, exercising its special constitutional powers under Article 142 to do complete justice and avoid disrupting the school's functioning, the Court directed that the post be filled through a proper regular selection within four months, and that the appellant be allowed to continue on an ad hoc basis, and be paid his salary, until that regular appointment is made.
Lesson Learnt
An ad hoc appointment to a temporary vacancy does not create a right to permanent absorption, no matter how many years the person continues in the post under interim court orders; only a proper, lawful selection process can confer a substantive government or aided-school post.