UNION OF INDIA & ORS. versus ILMO DEVI & ANR.

UNION OF INDIA & ORS. versus ILMO DEVI & ANR.

The respondents were contingent paid part-time sweepers working less than five hours a day and there were no sanctioned posts in the Post Office where they worked; there is no documentary proof of continuous service that would qualify them under the Umadevi criteria or the DoPT/departmental regularization policy; creation/sanction of posts and formulation of regularization policy are executive functions and the High Court in judicial review under Article 226 cannot direct the executive to create posts or frame policy; accordingly the High Court's directions to reformulate policy and sanction posts (paragraph 22) and its broader directions (paragraph 23) are beyond its jurisdiction and are...

Parties
Appellant: Union of India & Ors.; Respondent: Ilmo Devi & Anr.
Jurisdiction
India
Judgment Date
07 October 2021
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal / Appeal to the Supreme Court From Judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Writ Petitions Under Article 226
Outcome
Appeals allowed; impugned High Court judgment and order quashed and set aside insofar as directions in paragraphs 22 and 23, but quashing of paragraph 23 shall not affect the entitlement of the present respondents to reliefs as per paragraph 23 (per this Court's earlier order); no order as to costs.
Legal Topics
Regularization, Part Time Employees, Sanctioned Posts, Judicial Review, Mandamus, Equal Pay for Equal Work
Service Law Constitutional Law Administrative Law Labour Law Regularization Part Time Employees Sanctioned Posts Judicial Review +2 more

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Parties

Union of India & Ors.

Appellant

Ilmo Devi & Anr.

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Civil Appeal / Appeal to the Supreme Court From Judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Writ Petitions Under Article 226

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether part-time contingent paid employees working less than five hours a day and not against sanctioned posts are entitled to regularization
  2. 2 Whether a High Court exercising power under Article 226 can direct the executive to create/sanction posts or to frame a particular regularization policy
  3. 3 Whether departmental/DoPT regularization policy and the principles in Umadevi apply to part-time contingent workers

Ratio Decidendi

The respondents were contingent paid part-time sweepers working less than five hours a day and there were no sanctioned posts in the Post Office where they worked; there is no documentary proof of continuous service that would qualify them under the Umadevi criteria or the DoPT/departmental regularization policy; creation/sanction of posts and formulation of regularization policy are executive functions and the High Court in judicial review under Article 226 cannot direct the executive to create posts or frame policy; accordingly the High Court's directions to reformulate policy and sanction posts (paragraph 22) and its broader directions (paragraph 23) are beyond its jurisdiction and are...

Court Disposition

Appeals allowed; impugned High Court judgment and order quashed and set aside insofar as directions in paragraphs 22 and 23, but quashing of paragraph 23 shall not affect the entitlement of the present respondents to reliefs as per paragraph 23 (per this Court's earlier order); no order as to costs.

Orders

  • Appeals allowed
  • Impugned judgment and order of the High Court quashed and set aside insofar as directions in paragraphs 22 and 23