LI Network
Published on: December 08, 2023 at 12:44 IST
The Allahabad High Court has ruled that employees of autonomous bodies, even if these entities adopt government service rules, cannot be treated on par with government employees.
The court’s decision came in response to a challenge by an assistant teacher whose inter-district transfer was canceled. The teacher argued for the transfer, citing 10 weightage points due to her spouse’s government service.
Justice Abdul Moin, on the bench, clarified that the term “persons serving under the Government of India or the Government of State” in the Constitution refers to individuals under the direct administrative control of the respective government.
The petitioner’s husband, employed by Lucknow University, does not meet the criteria of a government servant, lacking administrative control by the Governor and other essential characteristics.
The court emphasized that merely adopting government service rules by autonomous bodies does not grant their employees the same benefits as government employees.
The judgment cited the case of the State of Maharashtra and Anr v Bhagwan and Ors [(2022) 4 SCC 193], reinforcing that following government rules does not automatically categorize employees of autonomous bodies as “government employees” or “in government service.”
The assistant teacher had approached the High Court challenging the cancellation of her transfer by the District Basic Education Officer, Unnao.
The court noted that the key issue revolved around the disputed 10-mark advantage granted for the spouse’s government service, as per the relevant government order on inter-district transfers.
The judgment maintained that despite adopting government rules, employees of autonomous bodies are not entitled to the same rights and benefits as government employees.
Consequently, the writ petition was dismissed in the case titled Deepti Singh v State Of UP Represented By Its Addl. Chief Secy. Basic Shiksha Lko And 6 Others.