Direction to consider regularization of contractual CIC Operators in light of established administrative recommendations and judicial precedent.

The thirteen applicants were appointed as Data Entry Operators (DEOs) on a contractual basis between 2004–2005 through a merit-based selection process conducted by District-level Committees

They have served continuously as Community Information Centre (CIC) Operators for over 20 years

In 2009, these centers were transferred from the Government of India to the State of J&K

Although the State Cabinet approved their regularization in 2014, and the Finance Department sanctioned the creation of 172 DEO posts for this purpose in 2016, the applicants were never formally regularized.

In 2017, an Empowered Committee cleared 92 candidates, including the applicants, for regularization under the J&K Special Provisions Act, 2010, yet no final orders were issued

The applicants approached the Tribunal seeking parity with a prior judgment involving similarly situated employees

1. Whether the applicants are entitled to regularization of their services in light of the Empowered Committee's recommendations and previous judicial precedents

2. Whether the respondents should be directed to consider the present Original Application as a representation for regularization based on the principle of parity

Jammu & Kashmir Civil Services (Special Provisions) Act, 2010

Principle of judicial parity, specifically referencing the precedent set by the Central Administrative Tribunal (Jammu Bench) in Sanjay Kumar & Ors. v. UT of J&K and Ors. (T.A. No. 248/2020)

The Tribunal noted that the applicants had undergone a formal recruitment process and had rendered two decades of continuous service

It observed that the administrative groundwork for regularization—including Cabinet decisions, the creation of supernumerary posts by the Finance Department, and clearance by the Empowered Committee—had already been completed

The Tribunal found that the respondents’ own reply/short affidavit filed by the Director of Rural Development Department, Kashmir, contained admissions suggesting the applicants were similarly situated to those in the Sanjay Kumar case

Consequently, the Tribunal determined that a time-bound direction to the respondents to treat the O.A. as a representation would satisfy the ends of justice without the need for a protracted merit-based adjudication at this stage

The respondents are ordered to consider the applicants' claims for regularization in light of the judgment in Sanjay Kumar & Ors. v. UT of J&K and the admissions made in the respondents' own affidavits. A reasoned and speaking order must be passed within eight weeks of receipt of the certified order, provided there is no legal impediment and the applicants are found to be similarly situated to the cited precedent. No costs were awarded.