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The Calcutta High Court on Friday lashed out on the administration of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) for outsourcing the services rendered by a batch of contractual employees who had been working as gardeners since 2013 to a government contractor.

The Court was hearing the petitioners who are gardeners at the ISI. The petitioners started working as contractual employees in ISI from 2013.They were appointed through a recruitment procedure for which advertisement was published in news paper. In November, 2016 the recruitment policy was changed after going through the views of CAG and thereafter, their services had been outsourced to Kalpataru Enterprise instead of the ISI.

Earlier, the ISI had a recruitment policy that stipulated that the extension of contract may continue till the petitioners attain the age of 59 years if they are physically fit and a medical test will be essential for that purpose. However, under the new recruitment policy, instead of up to 59 years, the petitioners were given employment for only one year of service period.

Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay in his decision noted that governmental interference in the functioning of autonomous institutions, is bad in practice. 

"An autonomous institution has autonomy in its administration and in its other functions. The Government cannot play the role of a modern day Shylock by saying, as the Government is putting the money, Government will control the autonomous institution in administrative functions. This cannot be done in a country like India where a large number of autonomous bodies are working for a long time. Where is the declared policy which says that the Government will interfere into the administration and other works of the autonomous body? Or such interference would be done in an indirect manner? As the Government is giving money it cannot say that it will control partially or in full an autonomous body, the Government is duty bound to give the money which is not anybody's personal money but the money of the people of India collected from tax and other sources and the Government cannot question the autonomy enjoyed unless there is very serious irregularities in respect of the autonomous institution. No serious financial irregularity has been shown here. Here some person would do the same job but now not under ISI but under a Government contractor. What is the purpose? Nobody has been able to explain it before me", the Court observed.

 Further, on the non-permanent nature of the employees, the Court noted that,

If required, it could have been said to the contractual employees that their services were not required. Instead of doing so, by giving such artificial breaks after each contractual period to show the employees before the law as they are contractual employees when their duty is perennial in nature. Such artificial breaks given to the contractual employees are not at all acceptable to this court which exercises jurisdiction under the Constitution of India as it is unfair. In favour of the petitioners a right has already grown, as the breaks were artificially given for permanent absorption in ISI. Thus the petitioners who are entitled to be absorbed in ISI permanently are being sent under a government contractor for one year service.

Thus the Court set aside and quashed the resolution taken that ISI should procure the cooking and gardening services.  "In no circumstances petitioners can be pushed to a Government contractor from the fold of ISI. On the contrary ISI should consider with sincerity about giving 6 permanent employee status to the petitioners as artificial breaks were given in their contractual periods from 2013 to 2021," the Couurt ordered.

The Court further ordered that the petitioners shall work under ISI as they were working and under no circumstances their services can be terminated without following the decision of the outsourcing committee as to physical fitness and medical test by the ISI and they cannot be transferred to a contractor from the fold of ISI.

The Court also rejected ISI's prayer for a stay on this order.

Shri Aloke Singh & Ors. -Versus- Indian Statistical Institute & Ors.