Contractual Employees Seeking Regularisation Are Entitled to Protection Against Disengagement Pending Disposal of Original Applications before the Tribunal.

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 on the ground of long-term continuous employment.

The Tribunal issued notice in the OAs and granted time for filing replies but did not pass any interim order protecting the petitioners’ employment status.

Aggrieved by the lack of interim protection pending the disposal of their OAs, the petitioners filed these writ petitions before the Delhi High Court.

Whether the petitioners are entitled to interim protection against disengagement of their services pending the adjudication of their claims for regularisation before the Tribunal.

The Court exercised its extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

The Court applied the principle of maintaining the status quo in service matters where contractual employees have served for "long periods of time" and their claims for regularisation are pending adjudication to prevent the petitions from becoming infructuous.

The Court noted that although the petitions were technically filed against the Tribunal's "notice-issuing" orders, the core grievance was the lack of interim protection for the petitioners' services.

While acknowledging that there is a "considerable body of law" regarding the regularisation of contractual employees, the Court focused on the immediate necessity of protecting the petitioners' current employment status until the Tribunal could hear the matters on the merit.

The Court observed that the OAs were already scheduled for a hearing on May 28, 2026, and determined that the interests of justice would be served by ensuring the petitioners are not terminated in the interim.

The court clarified that this order was intended to bridge the period until the Tribunal’s next scheduled hearing.