High Court denies pay claims of contractual employees, sets aside earlier order

Srinagar, Jun 5: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has set aside an earlier order directing the Union Territory administration to pay remuneration to a group of contractual professionals, ruling that the claimants failed to establish that they had performed authorized duties beyond the expiry of their contractual engagements.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar delivered the judgment while hearing an appeal filed by the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir against an earlier decision in favor of the contractual employees.
The dispute arose from the engagement of subject specialists and professionals by the Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) and the Town Planning Organization, Kashmir (CTPK) in 2017 and 2018 for preparation of Master Plans and Zonal Plans for Srinagar and Anantnag. The appointments were purely contractual and carried specified end dates.
The professionals had approached the court claiming they continued to work under verbal instructions until March 2020 despite the expiry of their contracts and sought remuneration for the period. A Single Judge had earlier accepted the claim relying on experience certificates produced before the court.
However, the Division Bench found that official circulars issued in June and August 2019 had directed the contractual professionals to disengage and return official equipment and data, contradicting claims that they remained in service thereafter.
The court observed that the petitioners had failed to demonstrate that they were authorized to continue working beyond their contractual tenure and questioned the credibility of experience certificates issued subsequently. The Bench remarked that the certificates appeared to have been managed in connivance with officials and described the material placed on record as insufficient to justify payment from public funds.
Holding that the respondents had “miserably failed” to prove performance of duties beyond their contractual period, the court allowed the appeal, set aside the Single Judge’s order and dismissed the writ petitions.
The judgment is expected to have wider implications for contractual service disputes, reaffirming that remuneration claims against government agencies must be supported by clear evidence of authorized service and valid contractual engagement. [KNT]