The regularisation of temporary employees in public employment must adhere to the constitutional scheme, and judicial discipline is crucial for the credibility of the judicial institution.

ORDER :

1. Leave granted.

2. The respondent was employed with the appellant company as a daily-rated Mazdoor. He was recruited in the year 1973. He was appointed on regular basis with effect from 11.8.1986. He attained the age of superannuation on 30th August, 1989. Thereafter, again while working on daily-wages, his services were terminated in 1993. He filed a representation for payment of gratuity as also other retiral benefits. He having been denied the retiral benefits on the premise that he had not completed 10 years' qualifying service as required in terms of the Service Rules, he filed an original application before the Central Administrative Tribunal.

3. The said application was allowed inter-alia on the premise that the appellant had formulated a regularisation scheme in the year 1989 in terms whereof the respondent should have been given a permanent status. The High Court has upheld the said view.

4. A Constitution Bench of this Court in Secretary, State of Karnataka and Others vs. Umadevi and Others, 2006 (4) SCC 1, has categorically held that keeping in view the constitutional scheme of equality, as contained in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, regularisation or permanent continuance of temporary, contractual, casual, daily-wage or ad hoc employees in public employment dehors the constitutional scheme is impermissible in law.

5. By way of one time concession the Constitution Bench, however, held as under:

“53. One aspect needs to be clarified. There may be cases where regular appointments (not illegal appoints) as explained in S.V. Narayanappa, 1967 (1) SCR 128, R.N. Nanjundappa, 1972 (1) SCC 409 and B.N. Nagarajan, 1979 (4) SCC 507 and referred to in Para-15 above, of duly qualified persons in duly sanctioned vacant posts might have been made and the employees have continued to work for ten years or more but without the intervention of orders of the courts or of tribunals. The question of regularisation of the services of such employees may have to be considered on merits in the light of the principles settled by this Court in the cases abovereferred to and in the light of this judgment. In that context, the Union of India, the State Governments and their instrumentalities should take steps to regularise as a one-time measure, the services of such irregularly appointed, who have worked for ten years or more in duly sanctioned posts but not under cover of orders of the courts or of tribunals and should further ensure that regular recruitments are undertaken to fill those vacant sanctioned posts that require to be filled up, in cases where temporary employees or daily wagers are being now employed. The process must be set in motion within six months from this date. We also clarify that regularisation, if any already made, but not sub judice, need not be reopened based on this judgment, but there should be no further bypassing of the constitutional requirement and regularising or making permanent, those not duly appointed as per the constitutional scheme.”

6. We may notice that the law in this behalf has been laid down by the Constitution Bench of this Court, stating:

“43. Thus, it is clear that adherence to the rule of equality in public employment is a basic feature of our Constitution and since the rule of law is the core of our Constitution, a court would certainly be disabled from passing an order upholding a violation of Article 14 or in ordering the overlooking of the need to comply with the requirements of Article 14 read with Article 16 of the Constitution. Therefore, consistent with the scheme for public employment, this Court while laying down the law, has necessarily to hold that unless the appointment is in terms of the relevant rules and after a proper competition among qualified persons, the same would not confer any right on the appointee. If it is a contractual appointment, the appointment comes to an end and the end of the contract, if it were an engagement or appointment on daily wags or ca