Govt jobs cannot be exchanged for land: High Court

Srinagar, Oct 9: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has ruled that government employment cannot be promised or granted in exchange for land donated for public projects, while clarifying that eligible workers who have completed 10 years of continuous service may be considered for regular engagement under the applicable rules.
A Division Bench of Justices Sanjeev Kumar and M.A. Chowdhary passed the ruling while deciding a challenge filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Government and three others against an order issued by the Central Administrative Tribunal’s Jammu Bench on February 3.
The dispute arose after landowners donated one kanal each in 2014 for the construction of tubewells. Their gift deeds reportedly stipulated government jobs in return, but they were engaged as casual workers in the Irrigation and Flood Control Department instead of being given permanent appointments.
The workers approached the court in 2019 seeking regularization. The tribunal subsequently directed their regularization against available posts, prompting the government to challenge the order before the High Court.
The High Court held that permanent government appointments must be made in accordance with recruitment rules and through a fair and transparent selection process consistent with Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which provide for equality before the law and equality of opportunity in public employment.
The Bench observed that the government had no authority to promise permanent jobs in return for donated land, cautioning that such arrangements would effectively put government employment up for sale. It also disapproved of the practice of engaging workers without a proper selection process and later regularising them through policy decisions.
However, the court distinguished between a claim to a permanent job in exchange for land and eligibility for regular engagement under the Jammu and Kashmir rules notified in 2017. It held that the workers who had completed 10 years of continuous service as casual or daily-rated employees were entitled to consideration for regular engagement under those rules, subject to the prescribed conditions.
The Bench modified the tribunal’s operative directions and ordered that eligible cases be taken up immediately, with the benefit of regular engagement and related entitlements to be determined in accordance with the rules.
The ruling reinforces the requirement that public appointments follow established recruitment procedures, while preserving the separate rights available to eligible long-serving casual workers under the applicable framework. [KNT]