Supreme Court upset over contract system

A division Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly also pulled up the government for not making recruitments for different posts of teachers, doctors and scientists through the all-India level service to be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.

“Courts of the country are fed up in deciding the service matters from recruitment to retirement.

“How many times we have seen principals of medical colleges sitting on the back benches (in the courts for their service matters),” the court said.

Justice Singhvi asked the government as what prevented it from conducting all-India service for recruitments on different posts.

The court gave an example of eminent heart surgeon Prof P Venugopal, whose appointment as the then director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences was mired in controversy followed by legal tangle, to drive  home its point.The surgeon had to get involved in a long battle in the courts due to his removal from the post.

“We express our grave concern for the contract system being followed by the government. We have the best example of Venugopal who had to spend his time in the corridors of courts instead of conducting operations and heart surgeries,” the court said.
It said such type of scenario caused “colossal loss” to the nation. The court made these observations while hearing a petition filed by a doctor against the Delhi government.
The Bench also expressed its displeasure over the tendency in the government to challenge reinstatement of even a daily wager and Class IV employee.

“In case of daily wagers, class IV employees, if a worker is reinstated, they come from Thiruvananthapuram to challenge it,” the court said.

“Every matter travels to the Supreme Court. These are the issues which can be settled by the government at the secretariat level,” the apex court added.