CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.11405 OF 2011 (O&M) :{ 1 }: IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH DATE OF DECISION: JULY 13 ,2011 Surender Kumar .....Petitioner VERSUS State of Haryana and others ....Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE RANJIT SINGH 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgement? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? PRESENT: Mr. Sandeep Kotla, Advocate, for the petitioner. **** RANJIT SINGH, J. The petitioner was engaged as an Accounts Manager on contract basis on 8.6.2007 in District Health and Welfare Society under R.C.H Programme, Karnal. The appointment was for a period of one year from the date of joining or till the Scheme lasted, whichever was earlier. During the month of September, 2010, the petitioner resigned from his job as he had got some permanent job in Delhi. The post of Accounts Manager was again advertised but no one appeared and joined on the post. The petitioner submitted his resignation from the service which he had joined at Delhi and statedly on asking of the respondents again re-joined on the post of CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.11405 OF 2011 (O&M) :{ 2 }: Accounts Manager on 29.12.2010. As per the terms of engagement, his contract was to expire on 31.3.2011, which was extended for a period of one month. The petitioner even thereafter has continued to work. He has now approached this Court with a grievance that the respondent officials are now wanting to adjust their nears and dears and so have issued fresh advertisement on 22.6.2011 by changing the qualification. He has accordingly filed this writ petition to pray that he be continued on the post of Accounts Manager on contractual basis till the post is filled by regular appointment. When the case came up for hearing on 5.7.2011, it was noticed that no appointment had been made and the writ petition was considered to have been pre-maturely filed. On the request of counsel, the case was adjourned sine-die as the counsel apprehended that the respondents were likely to employ somebody else. Today the petitioner has moved a miscellaneous application for placing on record an order regarding appointment of District Accounts Manager on contract basis with a prayer to adjudicate the claim made by him in the writ petition. While adjourning the case on 5.7.2011, this Court had observed that it would be seen if the petitioner can claim right over the post, he being a contractual employee and his period of contract being over. The counsel today has relied upon Hargurpratap Singh Vs. State of Punjab and others, (2007) 13 Supreme Court Cases 292 to contend that he has a right to continue till regular appointments are made. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.11405 OF 2011 (O&M) :{ 3 }: Hargurpratap Singh's case (supra) was considering the case of adhoc or part time employees and not of contractual employees. The contractual employee, after the period of contract is over, can not seek enforcement of a contract of service. The contractual employee even may not have a right to an employment, if the employer decides to terminate the contract. He would have only remedy to seek damages in case contract is wrongly terminated. In the present case, the contract of the petitioner has already come to an end. The petitioner in between has voluntarily resigned and had left the job. Perhaps, the petitioner does not fulfill the qualifications now prescribed for the post. The submission that this being done to adjust near and dear ones seems to be far fetched as earlier none had applied for the post when the petitioner had resigned. If, the respondents had been interested in doing so, they could easily have done so when the petitioner had earlier left the job. The action of the respondents in engaging another person on a contract by prescribing qualification, which the petitioner does not possess, would not give any cause to him to agitate. There is, thus, no merit in the writ petition and the same is accordingly dismissed. July 13, 2011 (RANJIT SINGH ) khurmi JUDGE