No Right to Full Tenure Under 'Until Further Orders' Clause: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled that an appointment order containing the clause "until further orders" does not grant an employee an enforceable right to complete a full term.

The bench upheld the curtailment of a scientist's tenure at the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The Court clarified that such wording allows employers to end a tenure prematurely, provided the action is not arbitrary, mala fide, or punitive.

Since the authority expressly reserved this power at the time of appointment, the judicial review remained narrowly confined to the legality of the decision-making process.

[Sadachari Singh Tomar v. UOI & Ors.]