Contractual employees have no right to have their contracts renewed, and the transfer of a contractual employee can be done as per the work requirement.

ORDER :

1. The present writ-petition has been filed for the following prayers:-

“31(B). Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of Mandamus by holding that the selection of the petitioner to his respective post was a regular selection, after following the regular process of selection and that he is entitled for regular pay scale from the date of his appointment and that his services cannot be terminated/discontinued in any manner contrary to one by which services of a permanent employee can be terminated and further be pleased to regularize the service of the petitioner from the date of his appointment and further be pleased to give all consequential benefits, monitory and non-monitory inclusive of the full back wages;

(C) Your Lordships may be pleased to quash and set aside the order of transfer dated 26-28/05/2021 at Annexure-E and further be pleased to restore present petitioner on the original post of State Consultants for which petitioner was hired for.”

2. The petitioner, who is a contract employee is seeking a writ of mandamus holding his selection as a regular selection and also to regularize his services. Further, a direction is sought to quash and set aside the transfer order dated 26/28.05.2021.

3. Learned advocate Mr. H.J. Dholakia, appearing for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner was initially appointed on the contractual basis by the order dated 30.04.2012 for a period of 11 months, and thereafter, he has been continued in service. It is submitted that by the impugned order, the petitioner has been illegally transferred to another place and after rendering services for so many years, now it was not open for the respondent authority, to transfer him.

4. Learned advocate has submitted that the petitioner is also entitled to absorption of service and the respondent authorities, has immediately illegally transferred the petitioner, for no reason by the order dated 26/28.05.2021 and no time was given for him and the transfer was done overnight.

5. Learned advocate has further submitted that for similarly situated contractual employees, working across the State, their contracts have been renewed and they are working in the same place, however, the petitioner has been transferred.

6. Per contra, Learned AGP has submitted that the petitioner, who was appointed on contractual basis for a period of 11 months and continued in service, is not entitled to any relief of that to of a regular employee and regularization. It is submitted that the petitioner cannot, as a matter of right, claim regularization and after having accepted the appointment order dated 30.04.2012 on contract basis, which he is governed with the terms and conditions mentioned therein.

7. Learned AGP has submitted that the transfer in the initial service and the petitioner being a contractual employee, can be transferred looking to the administrative exigency. It is not in dispute that the petitioner is appointed by the order dated 30.04.2012 on contractual basis for a period of 11 months with the conditions mentioned therein.

8. The condition No.14 of the appointment order reveals that the petitioner will have right to be absorbed in any Board, Corporation or Public Enterprises on regular set up of the State. Having accepted such conditions, the petitioner cannot claim regularization.

9. It is well settled principle of law that an employee, who is appointed on contractual basis is governed by the terms and conditions of contract.

10. At this stage, it would be apposite to refer to the observations made by the Division Bench in the judgement dated 27.04.2021 rendered in Letters Patent Appeal No.776 of 2021, wherein the Division Bench, after considering the array of the judgements of the Apex Court, on a similar issue, has held thus:

"11. None of the arguments advanced by Mr. Syed, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the appellants appeal to us. This is not a case of replacement of temporary ad hoc employees by another set of ad hoc or temporary em