Telangana High Court Protects Contract Employees from Termination
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench, consisting of Justices Sujoy Paul and Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao, passed a decision on Tuesday in favor of about 6,000 contract employees whose jobs had been regularized by the government. The government’s decision to regularize these employees had been challenged in court. The bench ruled that these employees should not lose their jobs, providing them much-needed relief.
However, the court struck down Section 10-A of the Telangana (Regularisation of Appointments to Public Services and Rationalisation of Staff Pattern and Pay Structure) Act, 1994, which had been used to justify their regularization. This section had been applied through a Government Order (GO16) issued on February 26, 2016.
A group of petitioners, led by A Venkatram Reddy, had filed writs challenging the decision of the then BRS government to regularize contract employees across various departments. They argued that these positions should be filled through a transparent selection process, rather than being regularized in this manner.
The bench clarified that the contract employees had been working since 2009, and their regularization was a “one-time measure” taken in recognition of their long service. The judges stated that terminating these employees at this stage would cause them significant hardship.
The court also noted that while the petitioners did not call for the immediate termination of the employees, it found fault with the government’s decision to appoint them on a contract basis, arguing that it went against public policy. The regularization under Section 10-A was also found to be inappropriate.
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Court Grants Special Treatment for Patnam Narender Reddy in Prison
In a separate case, Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court heard a writ filed by Patnam Shruthi, the wife of Patnam Narender Reddy, who is the main accused (A-1) in the Lagacharla incident. Reddy is currently lodged in Cherlapally prison.
Shruthi requested that her husband be accommodated in a separate barracks and be allowed to receive homemade food due to his health issues. The court directed the prison superintendent to place Reddy in a separate cell and grant permission for homemade meals.
The petitioner’s lawyers, Samala Ravindar and Gandra Mohan Rao, informed the court that Reddy suffers from ailments and needs a special diet. They also expressed concerns for his safety, highlighting the potential threat from unknown associates or habitual offenders in the prison.
