Govt institutes bear greater responsibility to avoid exploitative hiring practice: HC relief to medical officer kept temporary for 29 years

Ahmedabad: Holding that government institutions have a 'greater responsibility' to prevent unfair employment practices, the Gujarat High Court has ordered the state to regularise the services of a medical officer who worked for nearly 29 years in Primary Health Centres (PHCs) under a 'temporary' status until his superannuation in 2015.

Citing the caution laid down by the Supreme Court in cases of "exploitative employment", Single Bench Justice M J Shelat held, "A person cannot be continued with a status like ad-hoc, temporary, or contractual for years when the nature of the work is perennial."

The court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the doctor, who sought directions for regularisation, as well as challenging a communication dated September 7, 2013, that directed termination of the services of the petitioner.

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As per a latest Indian Express media report, he had been appointed as a medical officer on February 1, 1986, under a government resolution which stated that his services would end once a candidate selected through the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) was available. However, he continued in the service as a medical officer till the age of superannuation on August 31, 2015.

On this, the court said that “such eventuality never happened during the entire service tenure of the petitioner, who retired from service upon attaining the age of superannuation."

The court observed that "the services rendered by the petitioner were perennial in nature and that the respondents could not dispute that the work of a medical officer in a primary health centre was continuous."

Citing Supreme Court caution in precedents where "illegal" and "irregular" have been distinguished, the bench said, "precedents dealing with illegal appointments cannot serve as a shield to justify exploitative engagements persisting for years without the Employer undertaking legitimate recruitment…"

Referring to observations by the Supreme Court, the court highlighted that temporary employment in government setups is often misused to avoid long-term responsibilities, leading to the exploitation of workers. 

"It is a disconcerting reality that temporary employees, particularly in government institutions, often face multifaceted forms of exploitation. While the foundational purpose of temporary contracts may have been to address short-term or seasonal needs, they have increasingly become a mechanism to evade long-term obligations owed to employees," said the court. 

Allowing the pea, the court said, "the petitioner is entitled to receive all the consequential benefits flowing from the order of regularisation."

Therefore, the court directed the state to pass an appropriate order regularising“the service of the petitioner on the post of Medical Officer, Class-II, upon completion of 10 years of service from the date of his initial appointment, and grant the same within a period of three months from the order.

It also ordered that he be treated as a permanent employee and granted all consequential and pensionary benefits.

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