RAKESH SHARMA Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners' complaint is that the respondents have not regularized their services in accordance with the Regularization Policy of the State as contained in Annexures P-7 and P-8, dtd. 17/8/2012 and 31/8/2012, respectively.

(2.) Bare minimum facts to be noticed for adjudication of the writ petition are that the petitioners were appointed by the respondents on contract basis on 19/5/2006. On 17/8/2012, the respondents conveyed a decision (Annexure P-7) regarding regularization of services of contractual employees after completion of six years of service. This decision was followed by office communication dtd. 31/8/2012 (Annexure P-8), whereby in continuation to the office letter dtd. 17/8/2012, it was decided by the State Government to regularize the services of contractual appointees after completion of six years service as on 31/3/2012, subject to terms and conditions mentioned therein. The petitioners' grouse as projected by their learned counsel is that they had completed six years of contractual service as on 19/5/2012 and they fell within the ambit of office letter dtd. 17/8/2012 (Annexure P-7), therefore, their services were required to be regularized w.e.f. 18/8/2012 i.e. immediately after issuance of Annexure P-7.

(3.) The stand taken by the respondents is that the office letter dtd. 17/8/2012 (Annexure P-7) was followed by Annexure P-8 dtd. 31/8/2012, wherein 31/3/2012 was fixed as the cut off date for completion of six years of contractual service for the purpose of regularization. The petitioners had not completed six years of contractual service as on 31/3/2012, therefore, their services were not regularized in terms of Annexures P-7 and P-8. The respondents in their reply have also submitted that on 4/4/2013, an office communication was issued regarding decision of the State Government w.r.t. regularization of contractual appointees, who had completed six years of service as such on 31/3/2013. The petitioners having completed six years of contractual services on 19/5/2012 fell within the ambit of the cut off date indicted in the office communication dtd. 4/4/2013. Accordingly, their services were regularized in terms of office letter dtd. 4/4/2013 (Annexure R-1). Separate office orders regularizing the services of all the three petitioners were accordingly issued on 5/4/2013.