Three Bihar Medical Officers Win Regularisation From Their 1996–97 Ad Hoc Appointment Dates: CAT

The three applicants, Medical Officers, had initially been appointed on an ad hoc basis and were subsequently regularized. They challenged orders dated 7 August 2024 and 23 May 2025, seeking regularization from their respective initial appointment dates and consequential benefits, including coverage under the Old Pension Scheme.

In an earlier proceeding, the Patna Bench had directed the respondents to consider their representations by a reasoned order, taking account of a Hyderabad Bench decision and the applicable pension rules.

The respondents rejected the claims, relying in part on the ad hoc appointment terms and stating that the Hyderabad decision had been implemented only in personam.

The applicants relied on Dr. N. Swarna Latha v. Union of India and a Kolkata Bench decision concerning regularization from initial appointment.

The Tribunal considered Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, under which the Original Application was filed.

It relied particularly on the Hyderabad Bench’s decision in Dr. N. Swarna Latha v. Union of India, which directed regularization from the applicant’s initial appointment date, and considered the Kolkata Bench decision in Dr. Sanjoy Bhattacharyya v. Union of India.

The Tribunal stated that implementation of a judicial order in personam does not, by itself, remove the need to determine whether the principles of that decision apply to similarly situated persons; applicability is to be assessed with reference to the relevant facts, governing service rules, and legal principles.

The Tribunal did not set out or separately determine a specific statutory rule governing the applicants’ Old Pension Scheme claim.

The Tribunal found that the respondents’ reliance on the in-personam implementation of Dr. N. Swarna Latha was insufficient, without an examination of whether the applicants were similarly situated and whether the decision’s reasoning applied to their cases.

Having considered the material and the cited decisions, it accepted the applicants’ claims for regularization from their initial appointment dates.

The order did not separately determine the applicants’ entitlement to the Old Pension Scheme or GPF deductions.

The exercise was to be completed within three months of receipt of a certified copy of the order. The Original Application was disposed of with no order as to costs.