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State of Jharkhand v. Kamal Prasad

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 4809 of 2014)Decided 23 Apr 2014
Civil Appeal No. 4809 of 2014
Justice Gyan Sudha Misra · Justice V. Gopala Gowda

Background

Engineers initially appointed in Bihar later worked as ad hoc Assistant Engineers and continued with Jharkhand after the State's creation. After decades of service, Jharkhand issued notices and terminated their employment as allegedly invalid. The High Court's Division Bench quashed those actions and granted continuation and consequential benefits; the State appealed.

Decision Breakdown

The Court dismissed the State's appeals and directed implementation of the High Court's orders, continuing the engineers in service with the benefits awarded. It upheld the finding that they had served for more than ten years without their continuation depending on court protection, bringing them within the one-time regularisation exception in paragraph 53 of Umadevi. The State relied on interim orders involving other employees but produced no record establishing that those orders protected these respondents. Their qualifications, longstanding performance of permanent duties and the circumstances of their appointments supported the High Court's findings. Terminating them during the pending appeals after using their services for decades was arbitrary, and the State had shown no reason for Supreme Court interference.

Lesson Learnt

Long service alone does not confer a universal right to permanent government employment. The relief here depended on qualified engineers, the applicable one-time regularisation exception and proof that their qualifying service continued independently of court orders, rather than an unlawful route into public posts.

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

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