The doctrine of legitimate expectations and promissory estoppel justifies claims for permanent absorption and establishes hostile discrimination by the government.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records in connection with the impugned order passed by the 1st respondent in G.O.(D)No.1412, Health and Family Welfare (AA1) Department, dated 30.12.2022 and quash the same and further direct the respondents to reinstate the petitioners as Nurse and regularise them within a reasonable time with all attendant benefits.)

Common Order:

1. The brief facts of the cases are as follows:

1.1. The Medical Services Recruitment Board (MSRB) is the recruiting agency dealing with direct recruitment for various posts of Medical and Para Medical categories furnished by the indenting authority, namely the Heads of the Departments in Health and Family Welfare Department. Through a recruitment Notification No.02/MRB/2019, dated 07.02.2019, MSRB had invited online applications for filling up 2345 vacancies of Nurses on contract and consolidated pay basis. Clause 4 of the Notification offered for absorption of the recruitees into regular time scale of pay, after completion of a minimum of 2 years, subject to availability of regular vacancies. All the petitioners herein, who held the required eligibility criteria, participated in the selection process, which consists of written examination and certificate verification. After having been declared successful in the recruitment process, the Director of Medical and Rural Health Services had appointed them as Nurses in the hospitals / Rural Health Services, in the year 2020. Though the terms of the appointment was under a contract for a period of six months, their services were extended thrice through G.O.Ms.No.94, dated 25.02.2021, G.O.D.No.696, dated 04.06.2021 and Government Letter No.11358, dated 29.03.2022.

1.2. In the meantime, COVID 19, pandemic was declared as a notified disaster and the Government had permitted the Director of Medical and Rural Health Services to appoint Nurses on temporary basis to meet the pandemic surge of cases and it is in this background, the services of the petitioners along with the other Nurses were engaged. From among the successful candidates in 2019 recruitment process, 1000 and 1323 candidates were offered for appointment through a Special Notification Nos.2/2020 and 3/2020, both dated 30.03.2020. Likewise, through another Notification No.5/2020, dated 02.05.2020, 2570 candidates were offered for appointment out of which 977 Nurses were permanently absorbed. Through a subsequent Special Notification dated 08.06.2020, an additional list of 1166 Nurses, who were successful in 2019 recruitment process were also appointed. All these Nurses, who were permanently absorbed, were the successful candidates in 2019 recruitment process, like that of the petitioners herein.

1.3. While all these petitioners were continuing in contract basis and were awaiting for permanency, the present impugned order in G.O.(D.)No.1412, Health and Family Welfare (AA1) Department, dated 30.12.2022, came to be passed, wherein it was decided not to extend the services of all the temporary Nurses working in the institution under the Directorate of Medical Education and Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, beyond 31.12.2022, which includes the petitioners herein.

2. Mr.K.S.Viswanathan, learned Senior Advocate who appears for some other petitioners herein and whose arguments were adopted by the other petitioners as well, submitted that when the original recruitment notification for appointment on contract and consolidated pay basis had promised that these petitioners would be absorbed into regular time scale of pay after completion of a minimum of 2 years, their contract services were also regularly extended on three occasions, these petitioners had accepted the appointment orders under a legitimate expectation that they would be permanently absorbed. Thus, the present impugned order, discont