Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.

In view of the divergent views in two judgments by the learned Division Benches of this Court, the first being CWP No. 1282/2014, titled as Ashok Dutt Sharma versus Union of India and others, decided on 24.3.2014 and the second being CWP No. 4064/2015, titled as Bir Pal Singh versus Union of India and others decided on 1.1.2016, a learned Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 16.3.2016 in CWP No. 9093/2014, referred the matter for consideration to a larger Bench.

2. The order of reference reads thus:

“Mr. Ashok Sharma, learned Assistant Solicitor General of India, has placed on record photocopies of the two judgments passed by the two Coordinate Benches of this Court and stated that both the judgments, involving the same issue as has been urged in the instant writ petition, are contradictory to each other. We have gone through the judgments and are of the opinion that the instant writ petition is required to be heard by a larger Bench. The matter be processed accordingly on the administrative side.”

3. The seminal question that emanates in all these writ petitions is: whether an employee, who is appointed purely on contractual basis for a fixe