Regularization rights of employees are subject to adherence to recruitment rules; direct recruitment processes must be respected.

JUDGMENT :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

1. In this writ petition  preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India , the petition has inter-alia sought for a direction to the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board [APSSB] to recall or cancel an Advertisement no. 05/25 dated 05.08.2025 whereby, amongst others, online applications were invited from eligible and interested candidates to fill up a vacancy in the post of Driver [LMV] existing in the Labour and Employment Department, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. The petitioner has also sought for a direction for regularization of his service as a Driver by constituting a Departmental Promotion Committee [DPC] in terms of ‘the General Arunachal Service, Group - ‘C’ Driver, Non-Gazetted, Non-Ministerial, Common Recruitment Rules, 2006, as amended by ‘the General Arunachal Service, Group - ‘C’ Driver, Non-Gazetted, Non-Ministerial, Common Recruitment [Amendment] Rules, 2024 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Group - ‘C’ Driver Recruitment Rules’, for short] at par with similarly situated employees of the Labour and Employment Department, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.

2. The case of the petitioner is that he came to be appointed as a Contingency Driver in the Department of Labour and Employment, Government of Arunachal Pradesh by an Order dated 19.10.2012 issued under the hand of the Labour Commissioner, Department of Labour and Employment, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. By the Order dated 19.10.2012, the petitioner's appointment as Contingency Driver was given effect from the date of joining duty to 31.12.2012 at a fixed wage per month. Subsequent to the initial Appointment Order dated 19.10.2012, the service of the petitioner as a Contingency Driver in the Department continued till date. The petitioner has stated that prior to his appointment as Contingency Driver, he was in possession of a valid driving licence and the Departmental authorities had also undertaken a driving test to examine the petitioner's driving skills.

3. As one of the Contingency Drivers in the Department of Labour and Employment, namely, Paresh Das came to be regularized as a Driver on 22.09.2020 after a recommendation made by the Departmental Promotion Committee [DPC] on 18.09.2020, the petitioner who had completed more than eight years as a Contingency Driver in 2020, submitted a Representation before the respondent authorities seeking his regularization as a driver like Paresh Das. When the Representation dated 07.10.2020 was not responded to, the petitioner submitted representations in the subsequent years also renewing his prayer for regularization.

4. The petitioner has stated that as he was legitimately expecting consideration of his case for regularization as a Driver from the status of Contingency Driver, the impugned Advertisement, that is, the Advertisement no. 05/25 has come to be published by the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board [APSSB] on 05.08.2025. By the said Advertisement, online applications have invited for Non- Ministerial [Technical] Examination - 2025 from the eligible candidates for recruitment against vacancies existing in Group - ‘C’ posts for a nos. of Departments/Offices indicated in the Table therein. In the Table listing the posts/vacancies, it is mentioned that there is a vacancy in the post of Driver [LMV] in the Labour and Employment Department and the post is meant to be filled up by a candidate belonging to Scheduled Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh [APST].

5. It is in the above backdrop, the present writ petition has been preferred seeking the reli