The court ruled that past contractual service of employees can be linked to substantive posts for pension benefits under Rule 17 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, emphasizing fair consideration and reliance on assurances from authorities.

JUDGMENT :

GOLMEI GAIPHULSHILLU, J.

[1] Heard Mr. HS. Paonam, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners and Mr. Kh. Samarjit, learned DSGI appearing for the respondents.

[2] The present petitions have been instituted with the following prayer:

(a) Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ or direction quashing and setting aside the impugned order dated 06.01.2015 as illegal.

(b) Direct the respondents to reconsider the case of the petitioners for affording service link up from the date of their initial contract appointment till the date of their regularization on 10.11.2011.

(c) Pass any such further order(s) or direction(s) which this Hon’ble Court deem fit and proper to secure the ends of justice.

[3] Vide order dated 09.12.20215 of this Court, since the issues involved in W.P.(C) No. 125 of 2014 and W.P.(C) No. 112 of 2015 are similar in nature, the cases have been clubbed together and therefore, the said cases are taken up together for disposal.

[4] The learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that pursuant to various advertisements dated 30.11.2001, 11.02.2002 and 24.01.2003, the petitioners who fulfilled requisite qualification as prescribed in the said advertisements, along with other aspirant candidates, have applied for the post of staff nurses. On the recommendation of the selection committee, the petitioners were appointed on contract basis for a period of 1 (one) year extendable from time to time and likely to be regularized against regular posts.

After joining their services as staff nurses and rendering considerable period of services on contract basis, their services were regularized against substantive vacancies vide order dated 10.01.2011 in compliance of the orders passed in W.P.(C) No. 165 of 2008 and W.P.(C) No. 202 of 2008 dated 16.12.2008. Operative portions of the said order are extracted herein below:

“[26.3] In the present writ petitions also, the principles of promissory estoppel will be applicable in favour of the petitioners and as such, they are entitled their cases to be considered for regularization of their services as staff nurses as and then posts against which they were appointed on contractual basis are made regular posts by the competent authority or the posts created on regular basis subsequent to their appointments are available.

[27] The petitioners shall not however be entitled to consideration for regularization of their services as against other posts than the posts of the above said natures mentioned above. In respect of regular vacant posts of staff nurse created before the said purported two creation orders, dated 22.11.2001, the petitioners shall not have any right to claim for regularisation or for consideration of regularisation of their services on the ground of having served for some years on contractual basis. The same is the case in respect of the regular post of staff nurses which become vacant after the said appointments of the petitioners on contractual basis. The regular vacant posts of staff nurses which become vacant after the said appointments of the petitioners are to be filled up only in accordance with the relevant recruitment rules for filling up regular vacant posts. There is no any provision in the relevant recruitment rules for filling up the above type of regular vacant posts by way of either giving preference or automatic regularisation of those who have been serving on contractual basis. Since the advertisements issued on 30.11.2001, 11.02.2002 and 24.01.2003 were in respect of the posts purportedly to have been created under order dated 22.11.2001, as indicated above by the relevant appointment orders of the petitioners, the likelihood of the appointees being regularised against regular posts mentioned in the said advertisements must be taken as regularisation as against the posts to which they were appointment and only after the said posts become regular posts.

[28] In the facts and circumstances, the pot of staff nurses