Contractual employees engaged through third-party agencies against fixed tenures have no enforceable vested right to regularization or parity of wages with regular employees of the principal establishment, particularly where no direct appointment or sanctioned post exists.

Order on Board

1. The present petition is being filed challenging the illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and unreasonable actions and inactions on the part of the respondent NTPC, inasmuch as the respondents have failed to extend the benefit of regular employment to the Petitioners either by way of regularization or by providing direct recruitment on a preferential basis, despite the Petitioners having been continuously working for several years in the Hospital run by the respondent NTPC. It is further submitted that although the Petitioners are discharging duties similar in nature to those of regular employees, the respondents have failed to grant them wages and service benefits at par with regular employees, thereby violating the settled principle of “equal pay for equal work” and the constitutional mandate under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

2. The petitioners have filed this Writ Petition seeking following reliefs:-

“10.1 That, the Hon'ble Court may be kindly pleased to call for the entire records in respect of the grievance of the Petitioners.

10.2 That, the Hon'ble Court may be kindly be pleased to direct the respondent NTPC to consider the claims of Petitioners for regularization on the regular posts of Staff Nurse, Pharmacist, Lab Technician, Dialysis Technician and Optometrist available at NTPC Hospital Korba.

10.3 That, this Hon'ble Court may be kindly be pleased to direct the respondent NTPC to extend benefits of equal pay of salary etc. to the Petitioners with that of regular employee of the service rendered all these years, with interest.

10.4 That, this Hon'ble Court may be kindly be pleased to direct the respondent NTPC to undertake regular recruitments on the various posts in the NTPC Korba hospital within a time frame.

10.5 That, this Hon'ble Court may be kindly be pleased to direct the respondent NTPC to provide suitable benefits of preference, bonus marks, age relaxation etc. to the Petitioners in the recruitment so undertaken.

10.6 That, the Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to grant renewal/extension to the Petitioners on the posts occupied by them until regular appointment are undertaken.

10.7 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent NTPC to provide experience certificate to the Petitioners for work undertaken all these years during the pendency of the instant case.

10.8 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other relief which the Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case along with cost of the petition to the Petitioners.”

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the impugned actions and inactions on the part of the respondent authorities are wholly arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. It is contended that the respondent NTPC Limited, being “State” within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India, is under a constitutional obligation to act in a fair, just and reasonable manner and cannot exploit employees by keeping them on long-term contractual or ad-hoc engagements despite taking continuous services from them for several years. It is submitted that the petitioners are discharging duties identical in nature to those performed by regular em