New Delhi/Chandigarh, April 19: A decisive move for the Haryana labor force, the Supreme Court has ruled that thousands of employees regularised over a decade ago will not face termination. The Bench affirmed the legality of two key 2014 notifications while providing protective measures for employees covered under other policies that were technically found to be deficient.
The court maintained that the primary objective was to resolve long-standing service disputes that began when the state government attempted to regularise ad hoc and daily wage workers ahead of the 2014 Assembly elections. While the Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier labeled these moves as violations of recruitment law, the Supreme Court stated that the June 2014 notifications were valid, granting a “one-time measure” on humanitarian grounds.
The Group ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ ad hoc employees, who have secured benefit of these Notifications and who continue in service shall not be disturbed, the Bench declared in its April 16 verdict. Although the July 7, 2014, notifications were formally struck down, the court affirmed that the employees currently in those positions should remain employed to avoid widespread disruption, albeit at the lowest pay scale of their post.
The ruling also provides a path for other “similarly placed” employees to seek relief. Justice Chandurkar noted that the competent authority must verify the status of these individuals before the benefits are finalized. By balancing legal technicalities with the livelihoods of thousands of workers, the court has effectively ended years of professional uncertainty for the state’s workforce. The Bench affirmed that this decision concludes the challenges to the General Administration Department’s decade-old policy decisions.
