Supreme Court: "Technical Breaks" Cannot Block Regularisation for Long-Serving Ad Hoc Staff

The Supreme Court has ruled that short, artificial breaks in service cannot be used to deny ad hoc employees their right to regularisation.

Examining a case from Punjab where clerks and peons served for over a decade, the Court found that these "technical breaks" were often manufactured by the employer and did not reflect a genuine end to employment.

The Bench emphasized that since similarly situated workers with longer breaks were already regularised, denying the same to the appellants was discriminatory.

The Court ordered the State to regularise their services with full continuity and consequential benefits.

[Prem Chand & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Anr.]