Mumbai: In a significant ruling on public employment and labour rights, the Bombay High Court has directed the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) to regularise the services of more than 450 contractual medical and paramedical workers, observing that prolonged contractual employment in public institutions is unjust and detrimental to both workers and public administration.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Girish S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti A. Sathe quashed communications issued by the Maharashtra Urban Development Department and VVMC that required long-serving contractual employees to undergo a fresh written examination for regular appointment.
The petitioners included doctors, nurses, technicians and other healthcare personnel who had been serving the municipal corporation continuously for nearly 8 to 11 years. They argued that despite being recruited through a structured selection process and possessing the necessary qualifications, they were repeatedly appointed on short-term contracts that were periodically renewed.
The High Court held that public authorities must prioritise the creation and filling of permanent posts rather than relying on long-term contractual arrangements. The Bench observed that contractual appointments should remain an exception for short-term needs and not become a substitute for regular recruitment.
The Court criticised what it described as the culture of “ad-hocism” in public employment, noting that such practices create uncertainty for employees and undermine efficient public service delivery. It further observed that when workers have already served competently for several years, requiring them to undergo another examination serves little practical purpose.
The Bench also took note of the fact that similarly situated employees had previously been regularised without any fresh examination, making the differential treatment of the petitioners difficult to justify under constitutional principles of equality.
Highlighting the broader issue of unemployment, the Court stated that citizens often accept contractual public employment due to limited opportunities and should not be subjected to prolonged insecurity despite years of service.
Accordingly, the Court directed VVMC to regularise the petitioners within two weeks and urged the Maharashtra Government to formulate a comprehensive one-time policy to address the regularisation of long-serving contractual employees across municipal bodies.
The judgment is expected to have wider implications for public sector employment practices and may influence similar claims by contractual workers serving in government and local authority institutions across Maharashtra.