Judgment

B.P. JEEVAN REDDY, J.:- This batch of Special Leave Petitions is directed against the judgment of a Division Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court in a batch of writ petitions, the first among them being Writ Petn. (C) No. 72 of 1988 : (reported in 1989 Lab IC 807) (Piara Singh v. State of Haryana). A large number of writ petitions arising from both the States of Punjab and Haryana were heard together and a common judgment delivered giving certain directions in the matter of regularisation of the ad hoc/ temporary employees, members of workcharged establishments, daily-wagers, casual labour and those engaged temporarily in temporary schemes. We have heard all the counsel appearing in this batch at quite some length.

Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

2. Over the last several years a large number of appointments were made to Class III and IV services in the States of Punjab and Haryana on ad hoc basis i.e., without reference to Public Service Commission or the Subordinate Services Selection Board and without adhering to employment exchange requirements. They were initially appointed for a period of six months or so but were continued for years together under orders passed from time to time. (In so far as the State of Haryana is concerned, most of the Class Ill posts in the Education Department were kept out of the purview of the S.S.S.B. during the period 1970 to 1987. For a period of 10 years, it is stated, there was no Board in existence in the State. Only in March 1987, almost all the posts in Education Department and other Departments were brought within the purview of the S.S.S.B.).As a result of the above policy, a large number of ad hoc employees came into existence in both the States, who were continuing over several years without being regularised and were agitating for their regularisation. To meet the situation, both the Governments issued orders from time to time for regularisation of such employees subject to certain conditions. The orders issued by the Government of Punjab are the following:

S. No. Date of issue Substance of the Order

1 2 3

1 3-3-1969 Regularisation of ad hoc employees completing one year service on 28-2-1969.

2. 29-1-1973 Regularisation of ad hoc employees completing one year service on 1-1-1973.

3. 3-5-1977 Regularisation of ad hoc employees completing one year service on 1-4-1977.

4. 20-10-1980 Regularisation of ad hoc employees completing one year service on 1-10-1980.

5. 20-10-1982 Regularisation of ad hoc employees completing one year service on 26-10-1982.

6. 29-3-1985 Regularisation of ad hoc employees completing two years service on 1-4-1985.

7. 8-8-1985 Modifying the order issued on 29-3-1985 and directing that all Class III ad hoc employees having one year service on 1-4-1985 may be regularised.

8. 1-9-1986 Regularisation of Class III ad hoc employees appointed after 1-4-1984.

The orders issued by the Government of Haryana are the following:

S. No. Date of issue Substance of the Order

1 2 3

1. 1-1-1980 Regularisation of all Class III ad hoc employees who have completed two years service on 31-3-1979.

2. 3-1-1983 Regularisation of ad hoc Clerks in Class III who have completed two years service on 15-9-1982.

3. 19-1-1984 Regularisation of Class III ad hoc employees who have completed two years of service on 15-9-1982. (The employees who were left out in the orders dt. 3-1-1983 were brought within the purview of this order.)

4. 15-2-1987 Regularisation of all Class III ad hoc employees other than teachers working against posts which have been taken out of the purview of the S.S.S.B. and who have completed two years service on 1- 11- 1986.

In pursuance of the above orders a number of persons who satisfied the conditions prescribed in each of those orders were regularised but many could not be. Their services could not be regularised for the reason that they did not satisfy one or the other of the conditions prescribed in the said orders. They were, however, allowed to co