The Madhya Pradesh High Court has set aside a government decision that denied seniority and full regularisation benefits to a daily-rated employee who had joined service earlier than several of her juniors. The Court found the authorities’ actions discriminatory, arbitrary and contrary to the constitutional guarantee of equality in public employment.
The case concerned Shyama Verma, who began working as a daily-rated employee in April 1990. Over time, several individuals who joined service after her were regularised and granted full seniority and financial benefits. When her own regularisation was eventually approved, the order imposed a condition denying her seniority and arrears, effectively placing her below juniors who had entered service more than a year later.
After she challenged this treatment, the High Court had earlier directed the State to reconsider her claim. A committee was constituted for this purpose, and at its first meeting, it recommended granting her seniority and benefits at par with juniors. However, this recommendation was later reversed in a subsequent meeting, where the committee abruptly concluded that she was not entitled to the benefits enjoyed by those who had joined after her.
The High Court took strong exception to this reversal. It observed that the second meeting appeared to have been convened with the specific objective of denying her rightful benefits. The Court rejected the State’s claim that the junior employees had initially been engaged as daily wagers only for convenience before receiving regular appointments. It held that such an explanation lacked credibility, especially when it resulted in clear discrimination against a senior employee.
The Court emphasised that administrative decisions must reflect fairness, rationality and adherence to constitutional norms. Actions that favour juniors over seniors without a legitimate basis undermine the integrity of public administration and violate the principles of equality under Articles 14 and 16.
Accordingly, the Court quashed the impugned decision and directed the authorities to grant Verma regularisation with full seniority, treating her on par with the employees who were junior to her. It also ordered that all consequential benefits, including arrears, be extended to her in accordance with her corrected seniority position.
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