Authority: High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi

Order Date: 10 July 2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Petitioners – Shakti Nath Mahato, Md. Ainul Ali, Pranab Halder, Sanoj Kumar Sharma, Abhishek Kumar, Amar Ram, Radhika Hansda; Respondents – Union of India (Ministry of Human Resource Development), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and Pension, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) Dhanbad (Director, Registrar, A.R. & Estate), Sun Facility Services Private Limited.
  • Nature of proceedings: Writ petition seeking compassionate appointment and regularization after approximately 20 years of continuous service in Class‑III and Class‑IV posts.
  • Background: Petitioners were initially engaged on daily‑wage basis from 2001 to 2017 following the death of regular employees; from 2017 they were engaged on an outsourcing basis and have continued serving the respondent institutions.
  • Petitioners’ claim: Regularization on the basis of continuous service, invoking Supreme Court judgments that deem long‑term ad‑hoc engagements as sanctioned functions deserving permanent posts.
  • Respondents’ defence: Asserted no sanctioned vacant posts under Direct Recruitment Quota for Group C & D and alleged lack of requisite eligibility and qualifications.
  • Court’s observations:
  • Continuous service of more than 20 years establishes a perennial nature of employment, qualifying the petitioners for regularization.
  • Supreme Court judgments (Jaggo 2024, Dharam Singh 2025, Bhola Nath 2026, Shripal 2025, Vinod Kumar 2024) reject perpetual ad‑hoc or outsourced contracts and deem such functions as ‘sanctioned’, obligating creation of supernumerary posts.
  • Educational qualifications for Class‑IV posts are not a barrier; petitioners now possess higher qualifications.
  • Outsourcing cannot be used as a shield to avoid regularization obligations.

Final Outcome

  • The writ application is allowed.
  • Respondents are directed to regularize the services of the petitioners by creating supernumerary posts where necessary.
  • Past services are to be counted for continuity and terminal benefits.
  • Any pending interim applications are dismissed.

Topics: Labor Law, Employment Regularization