Stop regularising back door appointments in government jobs: Madras High Court to State

The Madras High Court recently ordered the State government to immediately stop back door appointments in public services in order to ensure that equal opportunity is provided to all eligible candidates through an open, competitive process [C Wilbert vs The Management of Indian Institute of Technology]..Justice SM Subramaniam said that equal opportunity in public employment is a constitutional mandate which shouldn't be violated, especially because lakhs of youth spend years preparing for competitive exams through which employment is granted in public service."Lakhs and lakhs youth of our great nation are longing to secure public employment through open competitive process and they are working hard for the purpose of succeeding in the competitive process. While so, back door appointments or illegal or irregular appointments, if regularised, undoubtedly, the fundamental rights of those candidates, who all are aspiring to secure public employment through open competitive process are infringed," the judge said..The Court further said that the equality clause enunciated under the Constitution of India must be implemented in its real spirit."Thus, the back door appointments are to be stopped forthwith in order to ensure that equal opportunity in public employment is provided to all the eligible candidates through open competitive process by implementing the rule of reservation," the judge added..The Bench was seized of a petition filed by one C Wilbert seeking a directive to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai to regularise his appointment on the ground that he completed 240 days of service. He joined the IIT Chennai campus in 1998 as a nominal muster roll (NMR) skilled attendant, but wasn't absorbed as the management turned down his request. Before the Court, he highlighted the fact that he has spent over 25 years at the IIT Chennai campus, working on various projects..Noting the facts of the case, the Bench said that if showing sympathy or leniency leads to unconstitutionality, then the Courts should be slow in showing such sympathy or leniency."Therefore, the leniency may be permissible only in certain exceptional cases, in the event of no unconstitutionality or non violation of any Statutes and Rules. Thus, there cannot be any misplaced sympathy in the matter of upholding the Constitutional Philosophy and Ethos," the order stated.The Bench further said that regularisation of illegal or irregular appointments would breach the fundamental rights of all eligible persons, especially the ones from rural areas."If at all, the benefit of regularisation and permanent absorption are granted to irregular and illegal appointments in a routine manner, no doubt, the fundamental rights of all the eligible persons, who all are waiting for securing public employment are violated. Courts are bound to consider the plea of those poor people from rural and semi-urban areas of our great nation, who all are preparing meritoriously to face the competitive process with a fond of hope that their merits will be recognised by the State in one way or other for the purpose of securing public employment..." it held..Further, it was noted that the issue of regularisation of services of temporary or illegal workmen is already settled by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Secretary, State of Karnataka Vs. Uma Devi. In this light, it was noted,"Once the Constitution Bench has settled the principles regarding the regularization and permanent absorption, any Government Order running counter to the principles, cannot be implemented and based on such Government Orders, benefits cannot be conferred by the Courts. Thus, any judgment running counter to the principles settled by the Constitution Bench of the top court, cannot be followed as a precedent for the purpose of considering the relief."The judge further highlighted that the government has passed several such orders, granting the benefit of regularisation or permanent absorption on various circumstances for many years by granting relaxation of Rules. "Such relaxation of Rules cannot be now granted in a routine manner, even by the Government. The appointments made in an irregular or illegal manner cannot be regularised by granting regularisation or otherwise," the judge held.On these lines, the Court dismissed the plea..Advocate Karthik Rajan appeared for IIT Chennai. .[Read Order]