IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that an employee appointed on an adhoc basis against a sanctioned post is entitled to regularization and seniority from the date of their initial appointment if similarly situated to others.

JUDGMENT :

Nelson Sailo, J.

Heard Mr. Taka Masa, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. Arenlong, learned counsel for the appellant and Mr. N. Angami, learned State Counsel appearing for all the respondents. This is a Writ Appeal filed by the writ appellant who is also the writ petitioner against the Judgment & Order dated 01.03.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C) No. 126(K)/2023 dismissing his writ petition. For the sake of convenience, the writ appellant shall be referred to as the petitioner hereafter.

2. The prayer of the petitioner in his writ petition is for setting aside the impugned Order dated 05.07.2010 issued by the Director, School Education in so far as he is concerned and to direct the respondent authorities to review and re-fix the date of his regularization and his seniority w.e.f 16.01.2004 with all consequential benefits. Additionally, in his affidavit-in-reply, the petitioner has prayed for the protection of the MACP benefit granted to him and the same should also be accounted as one of his prayer and for which, reliance is placed on the case of Sri-la Sri Subramania Desika Gnanasambanda Pandarasannidi Vs. State of Madras & Anr. AIR 1965 SC 1578.

3. The case of the petitioner is that he was appointed as a Graduate Teacher in Government Middle School, Tanhai on adhoc basis in the Scale of Pay of Rs.775-25-950-30-1100-ER-35-1590/- per month plus an innerline compensatory allowance @ 25% of basic pay with all other allowances prescribed by the Government from time to time with effect from the date of joining upto 30.04.1993 vice Sh. N.T. Shitiri, who was transferred to Government High School, Chunlika vide Order dated 12.03.1993 issued by the Director of School Education, Government of Nagaland. As the petitioner before his appointment had passed B.Ed, he along with two (2) others were granted two (2) increments with effect from the declaration of the result i.e., 12.12.1991 in case of the petitioner vide order dated 18.06.1993. Thereafter, the petitioner having completed 10 years of continuous service, he along with eight (8) other teachers were granted Senior Grade Scale of Pay vide Order dated 24.03.2008 and the effective date being 12.08.2003 in case of the petitioner.

4. The Government of Nagaland in the Personnel & Administrative Reforms (Administrative Reforms Branch) on 18.02.2004 issued a Memorandum on the subject ‘Regulation of Contract/Adhoc Appointments’. The Memorandum was issued pursuant to the recommendation made by the constituted committee to examine the issues relating to large number of adhoc/contract employees appointed in various State Government Offices and which was approved by the Cabinet on 16.01.2004. The recommendation comprised of two (2) categories. Category-I pertains to adhoc/contract appointments made against sanctioned post and Category-II in respect of casual/fixed pay appointments made without any sanctioned post.

5. Pursuant to the Office Memorandum, the Deputy Inspector of Schools, Mon submitted the original documents in respect of adhoc graduate teachers under its establishment who have completed five (5) years and above of service in the prescribed proforma for regularization of their service. The name of the petitioner appeared at Sl. No. 11 in the proforma showing his date of joining the school as 14.03.1993. Thereafter, vide Order dated 30.11.2006, the services of 183 teachers named in Annexure ‘A’ of the Order who had completed ten (10) years of continuous service as on 16.01.2004 were regularized w.e.f the date of joining into service subject to the conditions stipulated in the said Order. Again vide Order dated 14.05.2007, the effective date of regularization was fixed as 26.10.2006. Subsequently, vide Corrigendum dated 12.03.2009, the effective date of regularization was finally corrected as 16.01.2004.

6. That in respect of the petitioner, his services came to be regularized along with 17 other teachers vide Order dated 05.07.2010 with the effective date