STATE OF J AND K Vs. AFSHAN MAJID

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE State Government has come in appeal against the judgment and order, dated 16.04.2007 passed by a learned Single Judge, disposing of a large batch of writ petitions with a number of directions. Those writ petitions were filed by 'Contract Lecturers' (649 in number) seeking directions from the court to the concerned authorities not to discontinue their services at the end of the contract period and, further, to regularize them in service and to give them the same pay scale and other benefits as admissible to regular Lecturers.

(2.) BEFORE proceeding further it will be useful to say a few words about 'Contract Lecturers'. As the name suggests, 'Contract Lecturers' are engaged by the State Government every year on contract basis to do the teaching work in different subjects in different graduate -level Colleges in the State. In this State the academic session (or it would be more accurate, perhaps, to say the classes of the first year of the three years Degree Course) commences from March 15 or (in case of very inclement weather in some years) from April 1. The session comes to end on 31 December. Before the beginning of the session every year, the State Government takes steps for engagement of Lecturers on contract basis for teaching different subjects in different colleges till the end of the session. An advertisement is issued inviting applications and selections are made without subjecting the candidates to any written test or oral interview etc. The mode of selection, as stated in the advertisement, is as follows:

(3.) THE selected candidates are paid a fixed sum of Rs. 8000.00 per month. In the advertisement it is clearly stated that the engagement is a purely academic arrangement; it would be for a period of ten months or till the college is closed for winter vacation whichever might happen earlier. It is further indicated that in case of candidates engaged against clear vacancies (that is to say, vacancies against sanctioned posts) the academic, arrangement would be deemed to terminate immediately on the appointment of the regular candidates or if the posts are filled up by transfer.