Govt can abolish any post, refuse re-employment: SC

The Supreme Court today observed that the government had an inherent right to abolish any post under it and refuse to re-employ that person. This, it said, might be necessary as a measure for economy or for streamlining the administration.

8216;8216;The measure for economy and the need for streamlining the administration to make it more efficient may induce any state to make alterations in the staffing pattern of the civil services necessitating either an increase or a decrease in posts or abolishing them. In the event of a department being abolished or abandoned wholly or partially for want of funds, the court cannot, by a writ of mandamus, direct the employer to continue employing such employees as have been dislodged,8217;8217; an SC bench of Justices H K Sema and A R Lakshmanan said.

The ruling came on appeals filed by the Rajasthan government, the state Housing Board and a registered society Avas Vikas Sansthan, which was dissolved in March 1999, challenging a Jaipur HC decision relating to employees of AVS.

The bench said that 8216;8216;after the liquidation of AVS due to any reason, unless such liquidation was malafide, right to re-employment does not exist for the employees of such a liquidated society.8217;8217;

In this context, the bench referred to a 1999 judgement which said that where a project has shut down for want of funds, the employer can8217;t be asked to continue with the dislodged employees as it would amount to requisition for creating such posts though not required by the employer and funding them though the employer did not have funds for this.