Contractual employees seeking regularisation are entitled to interim protection against disengagement pending final disposal of their claims.

The petitioners, who were initially appointed on a contractual basis, filed Original Applications (OAs) before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking regularisation of their services based on their long-term employment

On 29.04.2025, the Tribunal issued notice in the OAs and granted time for pleadings but did not pass any interim order protecting the petitioners’ employment status

Aggrieved by the lack of interim protection pending the disposal of the OAs, the petitioners approached the High Court of Delhi via the subject writ petitions

Whether the petitioners’ services should be protected from disengagement pending the final adjudication of their regularisation claims by the Tribunal

The court exercised its discretionary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to provide interim relief in service matters.

It acknowledged the existing "considerable body of law" regarding the regularisation of long-term contractual employees

the principle of preserving the status quo to prevent the OAs from becoming infructuous.

The Court noted that the writ petitions were specifically directed against the Tribunal’s procedural orders which merely issued notice without granting interim stay

The Court identified the core grievance as the lack of protection against disengagement during the pendency of the OAs

Considering that the OAs were already scheduled for a hearing on 28 May 2026, the Court reasoned that the petitioners' interests needed to be safeguarded in the interim to ensure they are not terminated before the Tribunal can decide on the merits of their regularisation claims

No further interference with the Tribunal's proceedings was made.