Factual Matrix
In the Instant Matter Pushpa Devi v. State of Punjab a petition asking for the regularisation of a Clerk who has served 30 years. The petitioner argued against the Chief Engineer’s ruling in Pushpa Devi v. State of Punjab and filed a petition for regularisation of the Clerk position. The petitioner was hired in 1996 as a billing clerk and continued to work there until she was unjustly let go. After she contested the layoff, she won a settlement that included 50% of her lost salary. The petitioner stated that because she had worked for 30 years and rendered 30 years of service, her 30 years of service should be calculated from the date of her initial appointment in 1996. The government refuted the petitioner’s claim, arguing that the time the petitioner was unemployed could not be taken into account for regularisation reasons. The petitioner had also not finished a 120-hour computer course from a legitimate institution.
Analysis of Court order
The Single Judge Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, led by Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, determined that she was qualified to get the benefit and ordered the relevant authorities to issue the necessary decrees with all attendant advantages.
The Court determined that the petitioner would have served for 10 years by December 2006 if she had been appointed in 1996. The Labour Court and Industrial Tribunal verdict was not contested, and the petitioner’s employment was considered continuous as of the date of first appointment, refuting the department’s assertion. The petitioner was granted regularisation by the court, and the 120-hour computer course completion was not disallowed because of the petitioner’s 30 years of service. The court emphasised that the State Government and its department had a responsibility to offer chances for higher education, particularly to female employees, and ordered respondents to issue directives with concomitant benefits within three months.
CASE NAME – Pushpa Devi v. State of Punjab, Civil Writ Petition No. 22575/2015