Allahabad High Court reinstates 26 engineers, citing administrative errors

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has quashed the termination of 26 general-category junior engineers, reinstating them in their positions within the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam. The court ruled that employees cannot be made to bear the consequences of administrative errors during recruitment.

Hearing petitions from Rakesh Pratap Singh and 25 other engineers, Justice Irshad Ali affirmed that the petitioners were selected through a legitimate process for sanctioned posts. Crucially, the court found no evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, or manipulation in their appointments. While acknowledging the importance of reservation policies, the bench emphasized that their implementation must strictly adhere to legal frameworks.

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Employees can't bear administrative lapses.

The court also invalidated a January 28, 2014 order from the State Backward Classes Commission, stating it was issued without proper jurisdiction. Consequently, any administrative actions based on this legally unsound order could not be sustained. This ruling overturns the termination of the engineers, which occurred on December 2, 2014, following a dispute over the 2013 recruitment for 470 junior engineer positions.

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There can be no dispute with the proposition that statutory reservation is required to be faithfully implemented. However, the implementation of reservation must itself be in accordance with the statutory scheme.