Karnataka High Court stays NLSIU Bengaluru decision to terminate service of canteen staff

The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed a communication issued by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru terminating the services of the canteen staff at the university [S Radha Krishna v NLSIU]..Justice Jyoti Mulimani issued notice to the NLSIU in a plea filed by mess and canteen staff at the University against a communication issued by it stating that services of the petitioners would not be renewed after June 30.“There shall be an order of stay of operation of the communications dated June 6, 2022...issued by the first respondent,” the order said..The communication under challenge stated that it was open to the petitioners to apply for permanent posts as and when they are advertised, and if they were not recruited for the same, a fair separation package would be worked out..However, the petitioners highlighted that the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) did not give any security or guarantee of recruitment to the employees.“It is preposterous to say the least that the respondent being a premier law University should have taken a decision so fundamentally arbitrary and autocratic. The petitioners who have spent productive years in the service of the respondent have abruptly been informed that the services will be discontinued,” the petition filed by the staff stated..Further, the petitioners contended that since they had been extended all benefits extended to permanent employees, the respondent could not take refuge in the order of appointment as per which the appointment was said to be contractual.“The petitioners have a legal right and a legitimate expectation that after a minimum of 15 years of uninterrupted, continuous, diligent service rendered by them in the University, their services would be regularised and absorbed in the University workforce,” the plea said..It was further contended that it is impermissible for the university to treat the petitioners as contractual employees, since based on a decision to regularise services of contractual employees, appointment letters were issued to the petitioners in 2011, .Therefore, the petitioners sought quashing of the communication as well as a direction to the university to consider their appointment as permanent employees..Advocate Vaishali Hegde appeared for the petitioners while Senior Advocate SN Murthy along with advocate Adithya Narayana appeared for NLSIU..[Read Order]