Letter dated 26.01.2008 issued by the Government of the Punjab, Services & General Administration Department (Regulations Wing), Lahore, whereby all the authorities were directed to provide posts in BS-1 to BS-5 and Junior Clerks (BS-7) under Rule 17-A of Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974, to a child or widow/wife of a Government servant who dies while in service or is declared invalidated/incapacitated for further service, on a contract basis. This letter was remained in force keeping in view the prevailing contract policy of the Government for new employment.
There was wisdom of its enforcement at the relevant time because the then Government transformed the whole scheme of recruitment from regular to contract. But in 2009 vide a letter dated 14 October, 2009 Government decided to regularize the contract employees inasmuch as prohibition on regular recruitment was also not imposed, whereas significantly in the case of employment under Rule 17-A of the Rules, 1974, which stipulates its insertion to accommodate the bereaved family, not for a certain period but permanently condoning all the formalities and straightaway induction subject to fulfilment of qualifications is not being implemented in its true perspective on account of this impugned letter.
This Court, in the case of Ali Ahmad v. Executive District Education Officer, Sialkot and another (2014 PLC (C.S.) 793, has already held as under:- "Even otherwise, when the appointment was made under Rule 17-A of the Punjab Civil Servants (Appointments and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974, we have to restrict ourselves to the terms and conditions provided in the relevant rules. By going through the whole of the scheme provided in the said rules, the appointment on contract basis is alien to such scheme of law provided under the said rules, particularly , Rules 3 and 7 thereof, which talk about the initial recruitment, the appointment on acting charge basis, or appointment on current charge basis, theth appointment by promotion on officiating basis etc., but nowhere, in whole of the said scheme, the Authority has been made competent to appoint any person on contract basis."
Mst. Rabia Mahboob v. Deputy Commissioner , Bahawalpur and 4 others (PLJ 2019 Lahore (Note) 25, is also referred, relevant portion whereof is as under:- "The plea of the learned Law Officer that as appointment against all seats are being made under contract policy petitioner cannot claim for his induction on regular basis cannot be given any weightage for the reason that no policy can be framed in violation of the parent stature or rules made thereunder ."
3. It is also noticed that after the revival of regular recruitment policy , significance of the impugned letter dated 26.01.2008 has lost its validity inasmuch as it has become redundant and is no more in field because Government has changed its strategy for shifting of mode of recruitment from contract to regular. Under the Notification dated 14.10.2009, contract policy introduced in 2004 is not in vogue in its true spirit; therefore obviously recruitments under Rule 17-A of the Rules, 1974, on a contract basis, on the strength of the impugned letter , are not justified rather unwarranted and amount to deprive the beneficiary of its true spirit. Even otherwise, the impugned letter carries no weight after the Government has changed its policy qua mode of recru itment from contract to regular .
Besides, this Court in the above-noted judgments has already declared the contract employment under Rule 17-A of the Rules, 1974, without lawful authority .
More so, the Government has introduced an Ordinance, 2019 whereby all the contract employees completing their three years' service, have been allowed to be regularized. Therefore, I feel no hesitation in declaring this letter redundant as it lost its wisdom after 14.10.2009 when services of contract employees were directed to be regularized, and new appointments were also allowed to be made on regular basis subject to fulfillment of prerequisites.
4. Given weight to the above, this petition is allowed and the respondents are directed to regularize the services of all the employees who were appointed granting the benefit of Rule 17-A of the Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974 , forthwith irrespective, whether they have completed three/four years' service or not as their contract employment after 2009 was unlawful obviously , they had to be appointed on regular basis. It is also directed that in future, all the appointments under Rule 17-A ibid shall be made on regular basis.
5. The Registrar of this Court shall circula te copy of this order to all the District & Sessions Judges in the Province and also send copy to the Chief Secretary , Government of the Punjab, for its compliance/implementation.