HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court on Tuesday scrapped section 10-A of the Telangana (Regulation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of Staff Pattern and Pay Structure) Act that allows backdoor regularisation of govt employees recruited on contract basis.
Declaring the section as ultra vires, the HC said current employees regularised in this fashion need not be terminated, but directed the state to make all future appointments by following the due process for recruitment.
The court also made it clear that the state can no longer fill regular posts by regularising existing contract employees.
A bench of Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Namavarapu Rajeshwara Rao pronounced the order.
Sec 10-A contrary to Reorganisation Act: HC
The HC bench gave the order after hearing a batch of petitions filed by several unemployed youth unable to secure employment due to these backdoor appointments made by successive state govts right from 2001. The HC took the plea filed by V Praveen Kumar and others as the lead case, which dealt with the issue of appointing lecturers and assistant professors in govt degree colleges, junior colleges.
“We find substance in the argument that the action of authorities in regularising contractual employees is bad in law. More so, as their contractual appointment is against public policy. No public advertisement was issued inviting eligible candidates.
“Instead, scores of persons were given contractual employment in an opaque manner and, thereafter, by prescribing eligibility conditions mentioned under Section 10-A, which are contrary to conditions of Education Service Rules, they were regularised. Hence, we are unable to hold that such exercise of power of regularising is in consonance with law,” the bench held.
It may be recalled that Section 10-A was brought in Telangana by the BRS govt in 2016 in the name of adapting old laws to the new state under Section 101 of the AP Reorganisation Act.
The bench came down heavily on the then state govt for its strange interpretation of law. “The power under Section 101 of the Reorganisation Act deals with power to adapt laws. In exercise of the said power, the govt can make adaptations to modify, amend or repeal any existing law. But there exists no power to introduce an independent provision like Section 10-A which runs contrary to an existing provision i.e., Education Service Rules, without amending, modifying or repealing it.
“Thus, insertion of Section10-A is contrary to the intent and scope of Section 101 of the Reorganisation Act. Since Section 10-A runs contrary to Section101 of the Reorganisation Act and statutory Education Service Rules, it cannot sustain judicial scrutiny. Thus, we have no hesitation in holding that Section 10-A is ultra vires in nature and accordingly this section is set aside,” the bench said.
