HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has faulted a non-profit organization for removing 187 contract workers in one go and that too without taking their versions or issuing prior notices over allegations against them. Justice Surpelli Nanda made it clear that even a contractual appointment cannot be terminated without affording an opportunity of hearing, if founded on allegations or any misconduct.
The bench was dealing with a petition filed by Telangana State 108 Employees Union. It challenged termination of the contract employees by GVK EMRI, which provides 108 ambulances in the state.
The contention of the union was that the said employees were serving the same organization for over 15 years and working in various capacities like emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers and emergency response officers, among others.
In 2018, the contract employees received WhatsApp messages stating that their services were terminated as they had participated in a protest demanding the union, the petitioners, to implement eight-hour duty instead of the 12 hours shift they were working in.
Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for the petitioner, argued that the termination was in violation of the principles of natural justice, constitution and various earlier Supreme Court rulings.
After hearing the contentions, the court opined that the services of the employees were terminated without issue of any notices in clear violation of the protection guaranteed to temporary servants under Article 311 (2) of the Constitution of India. The court directed the employer to reinstate the 187 contract employees within eight weeks.
