Chandigarh, January 21
More than eight years after the services of 98 Assistant District Attorneys appointed on a contract basis were regularised, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday set aside an order appointing them against public posts by “a mode not envisaged by the Rules framed under proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution”.
Justice Sudhir Mittal at the same time made it clear that the state may continue with them as contract employees, subject to initiation of direct appointment process within six months. The respondents-ADAs would also be eligible to apply for the posts. “Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of this case, it is directed that stipulation of upper age limit shall be relaxed for them,” Justice Mittal added that while fixing a year’s deadline for the completion of the process.
The matter was placed before Justice Mittal after a bunch of petitions were filed against the State of Punjab and other respondents by Gurinder Singh and other petitioners through counsel Kapil Kakkar, Shivam Malik, Anurag Goyal, Parth Goyal and Amarjit Kaur. They were seeking the quashing of orders dated October 8, 2013, regularising the services of the respondents.
