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Synopsis

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld the disengagement of 1284 casual workers engaged by the Jammu and Kashmir government in 2014 as nursing orderlies in the J&K Health Department, dismissing two appeals against the single bench judgment dated November 4, 2022.

Initially hired on minimum wages to support the establishment of several sub-centers in the health department, their services were discontinued by an order dated May 14, 2016, following a Finance Department circular that prohibited the engagement of casual or seasonal workers in government departments and state-owned PSUs.

The workers approached the High Court against the 2016 order, seeking the regularisation of their employment and the release of earned wages. They claimed the circular banning their engagement was issued after their hiring, making it inapplicable to them.

A bench comprising Justices Moksha Khajuria Kazmi and Atul Sreedharan, however, observed that the workers' engagement was contingent upon the availability of government funds, and by accepting the terms of their engagement, they could not contest their disengagement due to the stoppage of funds.

The court noted procedural lapses, including the Chief Medical Officer's lack of authority for such engagements, and held that any engagement after the Finance Department's 2016 order was without following a transparent mechanism and at the cost of the state exchequer. "Since the department does not require the services of the appellants, they do not have an indefensible right to continue to discharge their duties as casual labourers," the court observed, adding that granting regularisation would validate an illegal channel of engagement and violate constitutional mandates.

Upholding the government's decision, the court affirmed the workers' disengagement was justified due to the absence of allocated government funds. However, the division bench upheld the single judge's direction for the payment of legitimately earned wages for the period worked, reinforcing the workers' right to compensation while affirming the legality of their disengagement.

The appeals were dismissed with a directive for the payment of legitimately earned wages within four weeks.

Cause Title: IMTIYAZ AHMAD BHAT & ORS. vs. UNION TERRITORY OF JAMMU & KASHMIR THROUGH COMMISSIONER SECRETARY TO GOVT., HEALTH AND MEDICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, CIVIL SECRETARIAT, SRINAGAR/JAMMU & ANR. (LPA No. 09/2024)