Ad hoc appointment, meaning, pending recruitment, termination of ad hoc, validity, ad hoc employee

 

Ad hoc appointment 

Ad hoc appointment means the appointment of a duly qualified person made otherwise than in accordance with the prescribed method of recruitment, pending recruitment in accordance with such method

Pending recruitment 

Ad hoc appointment is undeniably subject to the incidence of pending recruitment in accordance with such a method.
Ad hoc appointee has to go one day or the other but on the arrival of the regular selectee.
It cannot be assumed that ad hoc tenure can be limited to any period, say a year or so, or to the condition of putting an end to it without notice at the sweet will of the Gov. Department.
In any such interpretation, the phrase “pending recruitment in accordance with such method” would become totally irrelevant and indeed redundant.

Termination of ad hoc appointment:

Civil servants who were pointed on an ad hoc basis served for a considerable period (in some cases for more than five years). 
Services of said civil servants were terminated on the ground that under R.22 of Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and conditions of service) Rules, 1974 ad hoc appointment was only for one year and could not be extended without relaxation of Rules and that said appointment could not confer any rights on civil servants to continue indefinitely. 

Validity:

An ad hoc appointment could be terminated without valid justification if the post continues to fill ad hoc post.
Civil servants were entitled to hold and continue their positions as they were holding at the time of passing the termination order till such time the regular selectees were made available through the prescribed method and in accordance with the law.
Order terminating services of civil servants were set aside being without lawful authority.

Ad hoc employee:

Such employee is a civil servant as he holds a civil post in connection with the affairs of a province, is not included in the person excluded from the definition of a civil servant, and is governed by Punjab Civil Servant (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1975, having not been excluded from its operation, as well as S.10 of Punjab Civil Servants Act, 1974, having been described as a civil servant qua termination of service. Ad hoc employees are, therefore, civil servants within the contemplation of the Punjab Service Tribunals Act, 1974.

Termination of service:

Remedy:

Remedy, invoking of Constitutional jurisdiction of High Court under Art.199 of Constitution.
Services of the petitioner were terminated as they were ad hoc appointees.
Order of termination was assailed before High Court by constitutional petition 

Dismissal:

The same petition was dismissed in view of the bar contained in Art. 212 of the constitution and they were advised by High Court to approach the Service Tribunal for a redress of their grievance.

The remedy to the aggrieved civil servant:

Validity in all cases related to terms and conditions of service remedy available to an aggrieved civil servant was by filing an appeal before Service Tribunal and not by invoking Constitutional Jurisdiction of High Court.

Supreme Court interfere:

Supreme Court declined to interfere with the order passed by High Court, and Leave to appeal was refused.

 Meaning of Civil Servant:

A civil servant means a person who is a member of the civil service of the province or who holds a civil post in connection with the affairs of the province.

Who is not a civil servant?

(I) A person who is on deputation to the Province from the Federation or any other province or authority;
(ii) A person who is employed on contract, or on the work-charged basis, or who is paid from contingencies;
(iii) A person who is a ‘worker’ or ‘workman’ as defined in the Factories Act, 1934 (xv of 1934) or the ‘workmen’s Compensation Act, 19239(VIII of 1923).

Absorption-Pat and scale:

Absorption of a civil servant in another department after the abolishment of the parent department. Claim for absorption at the equivalent stage.
After absorption in services and General Administration Department from his parent department, a civil servant was put in BPS-5.
Under provisions of R.3 (1) of Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Services) Rules, 1974, pay fixed in the absorbed department would not be less advantageous to what he was immediately drawn in his parent department before the post became surplus and subsequently he was absorbed.
Service Tribunal set aside an order reducing the scale of a civil servant and his claim to allow him absorption in BS-9, was granted.

Ad hoc appointees have no vested right:

Ad hoc appointees have no vested right to claim regularization of services without successfully completing the process prescribed by law for an initial appointment.

Appointment on an ad hoc basis for specified periods.

Applications were invited for filling up vacancies who were declared successful were allowed and services were directed to be regularized.
Remained unsuccessfully completed process of written test as well as interviews conducted by PPSC.
None of the appellants successfully completed the process so as to claim a similar treatment as meted out to the petitioners of connected petitioners.
Ad hoc appointees as appellants had no vested right to claim regularization of services without successfully completing the process prescribed by law for an initial appointment.

Appointments voluntarily appeared in the test and interview process undertaken by PPSC and did not succeed.

Equity:

No equity exists in favor of appellants. I.C.A. were dismissed.