Apex court sets guidelines to curb ad hoc appointments

“The exercise to fill vacancies at the earliest must start in advance to ensure the selected person joins immediately on availability of the post, and hence, there may be no occasion to appoint any person on ad hoc basis for the reason that the problem of inducting daily labourers who are ensured of a regular appointment subsequently has to be avoided and a fair procedure must be adopted giving equal opportunity,” it said.

The Bench asked high courts and subordinate courts to undertake the exercise of recruitment on a regular basis at least once a year for existing vacancies or vacancies likely to occur within a said period. The court said this will also control the menace of ad-hocism.

The Bench said: “There can be no doubt that employment, whether of class IV, III, II or any other class in the High Court or courts subordinate to it falls within the definition of public employment. Such employment, therefore, has to be made under rules and orders of the competent authority.”

The order came on a bunch of petitions relating to appointment of class IV employees in courts subordinate to the Delhi HC. The dispute had arisen over the continuity of employees appointed an ad hoc basis for 89 days, which would extend for the same period after the same interval.