HC orders regularisation of 2 long-serving contractual teachers at Panjab University

The ruling condemned indefinite contractual employment as exploitation, directed Panjab University to regularise the teachers appointed through due process for over 12 years.

Written by Manraj Grewal Sharma

Chandigarh | November 11, 2025 04:07 PM IST

3 min read

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted significant relief to two long-serving contractual assistant professors of Panjab University, directing the institution to regularise their services within six weeks. The ruling highlights critical legal principles concerning contractual employment in government institutions.

In a November 6 order, Justice Jagmohan Bansal underscored that while temporary contracts may be permissible in exigencies, indefinite continuation of contractual employment without regularisation amounts to exploitation.

The judgment noted: “The pervasive misuse of temporary employment contracts… reflects a broader systemic issue that adversely affects workers’ rights and job security. Government institutions, entrusted with upholding fairness and justice, bear even greater responsibility to avoid such exploitative practices.”

The court emphasised that employees like the petitioners, who were appointed on sanctioned posts via proper competitive processes and have served unblemished for over 12 years, cannot be denied regularisation merely because their initial appointments were contractual.

The ruling cited the Supreme Court’s binding precedent in Jaggo vs Union of India (2024), observing: “The appellants’ long and uninterrupted service, extending well beyond ten years, cannot be brushed aside merely by labeling their initial appointments as contractual… Their sustained contributions coupled with absence of any adverse record warrant equitable treatment and regularization of their services.”

The petitioners were appointed as assistant professors (Commerce and Computer Science) in 2012 on temporary contracts following advertised recruitment by Panjab University. Despite fulfilling qualifications prescribed by the University Grants Commission and performing duties without interruption or misconduct, the university repeatedly renewed their yearly contracts without granting permanent status. The university also issued fresh advertisements for the posts occupied by them, prompting the petitions seeking their regularisation.

Justice Bansal found no illegality in their appointments as the selections involved interviews and were against sanctioned posts. The court rejected the university’s argument that contractual extension acceptance negated claims to regularisation. The judgment made clear: “Appointments not illegal but possibly irregular, followed by continuous service for considerable periods, demand a fair and humane resolution.”

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“Merely because an employee had continued under cover of an order of the Court, he would not be entitled to right to be absorbed… But where appointments were not illegal and employees had served continuously, the need for regularisation becomes paramount,” the court stated.

The court differentiated the petitioners’ case from “backdoor entries” criticised in the 2006 Uma Devi judgment and clarified that misuse of the verdict to deny long-serving contract employees their rights is “regrettable”.

The judgment directed Panjab University to regularise the petitioners’ employment within six weeks, failing which their employment shall be deemed regularised with seniority and all attendant benefits from that date. The court also suggested that the university review similar claims of other long-serving contract teachers to avoid repeated litigation.

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