Ranchi — In a major relief for eight former Bokaro Juvenile Home workers, the Jharkhand High Court has struck down their termination and directed the government to restore them to their posts.
Justice Deepak Roshan, in his judgment delivered on Thursday, held that the termination order “cannot stand in the eyes of law,” stressing that the administration had already accepted the employees as regular staff before reversing their status.
As per the petition, the Bokaro Deputy Commissioner had advertised eight vacancies at the Juvenile Home in 2016. The applicants were selected through a formal recruitment process and subsequently appointed. Their service books were opened, and they were paid salaries and benefits equivalent to regular government employees — actions reflecting complete administrative approval.
About a year later, however, the government cancelled their appointments, arguing that the posts were actually contractual and that processing them as regular employees was a “departmental mistake.” The workers were then rehired as daily wagers from early 2018.
The petitioners contested the decision in the High Court, arguing that the recruitment was legitimate and transparent, and that internal administrative errors could not be a basis for terminating legally appointed personnel. The state maintained that the initial appointments were inadvertent.
After considering both sides, the court concluded that the government’s actions — from opening service books to paying full benefits — clearly demonstrated that the appointments were treated as regular. It said reversing this position on grounds of an internal lapse was unjustified and arbitrary.
The court accordingly quashed the termination and ordered the reinstatement of all eight employees.
With inputs from IANS