Labour Laws:
Continuity of service – Grant of – Propriety – Termination of contract employee after holding disciplinary proceeding – In departmental review, he was re-engaged – Writ petition by employee seeking continuity of service with consequential benefits – Single Judge of High Court directed continuity of service from the date of termination till the date of re-employment – Order of Single Judge upheld by Division Bench of High Court – On appeal, held: Continuity of service can be granted only when order of termination is set aside, to ensure that there is no hiatus in service – In absence of challenge to termination order and to fresh appointment, grant of continuity was not sustainable – Seniority of the workman shall be counted w.e.f. the date of his fresh appointment. Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD : 1. The workman did not choose to assail either the termination of his services following the enquiry or the fresh appointment. All that was sought was that he should have the benefit of continuity of service from the date of the earlier termination until re-engagement. The grant of continuity was not sustainable for the simple reason that unless the order of termination and of the fresh appointment were challenged and adjudicated upon, seniority would necessarily have to count with effect from the date of the fresh appointment. As a matter of first principle, continuity can be granted when an order of termination is set aside, to ensure that there is no hiatus in service. [Paras 8 and 9][279-E-G]
2. There is another reason why the judgment of the High Court cannot be sustained. It is common ground that the appellant has recruited personnel like the present respondent on contract after a regular process of selection. Eventually, the contract employees are to be regularised. Granting continuity of service to a person such as the respondent, who was found to have committed misconduct, would place him on the same footing as other contractual employees who have a record without blemish. Hence, once a fresh appointment was given to the respondent and neither the termination nor the fresh engagement was placed in issue, the grant of continuity of service by the High Court was manifestly misconceived. The seniority of the respondent workman shall be counted with effect from the date of his fresh appointment in the service of the Corporation. [Paras 10 and 14][279-G-H; 280-A-B]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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