'HC sets aside policies to regularise services of contractual employees in Haryana'

The Punjab and Haryana High court today set aside the previous Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government's policies to regularise services of contractual employees.

The previous Congress-led government had framed policies to regularise thousands of employees in group B, C and D in 2014.

"The exercise for framing the aforesaid four policies in June and July 2014 was to please voters as the state was in election mode and assembly elections were due in October 2014.

"For gaining personal benefits, the bosses were not concerned about any order or judgment of the court, hence they dared to violate the same," said the HC bench of justices Rajesh Bindal andAnil Kshetarpal in the order.

"We find that policies having been framed in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court deserve to be quashed. Ordered accordingly," the order said.

"Under no circumstances, any ad-hoc/contract/work charged/ daily wages employees shall be allowed to continue further," it added.

However, the high court allowed the employees to continue for a period of six months.

"As there are thousands of employees who had been appointed on ad-hoc/contract/work charged/ daily wages, to take care of the work being carried out by them in different departments, we direct that they be allowed to continue for a period of six months, during which the state shall ensure that regular posts are advertised and the process of selection is completed," the order said.

The court also directed that all these employees be given relaxation in age to the extent of the period they have worked continuously on "ad-hoc/contract/work charged/daily wages basis" in the next process of selection.

The policies framed by the previous government to regularise services of employees were challenged in 2014 by several people who were job aspirants.