Equal pay and regularisation principles applied to court-appointed staff performing identical perennial duties

Staff appointed under the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959 who performed the same perennial duties as regular employees for long periods could not be denied regularisation, parity in pay, or retiral benefits where no rational basis for differentiation was shown. The Court accepted that their work was identical to that of the official liquidator and court liquidator staff, and that the classification between the two groups was arbitrary. On that basis, the earlier refusal to regularise their service was unsustainable, and the connected service claims were upheld, with time granted to frame and implement a scheme.

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Issues: Whether the company paid staff appointed under the Companies (Court) Rules, 1959 were entitled to regularisation or absorption in the establishment and to parity in pay and service benefits with regular employees performing similar duties.

Analysis: The staff had worked continuously for long periods, their duties were found to be identical to those performed by the regular staff in the offices of the official liquidator and court liquidator, and there was no material to show that their work was temporary, transitory, or non-perennial. The Court accepted the concurrent findings that the classification between the two groups lacked a rational basis and that the denial of regular status, equal pay, and retiral benefits resulted in unequal treatment despite substantially similar work and service conditions. In these circumstances, the earlier refusal to regularise their service could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The company paid staff were entitled to regularisation or absorption and to the corresponding pay and service benefits on a parity basis with similarly situated regular employees.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the High Court decisions failed, and the connected service claims were upheld, with a limited opportunity granted to the authorities to frame and implement a scheme within the stipulated time.

Ratio Decidendi: Where employees appointed under court orders perform the same perennial duties for long periods as regular staff and no rational classification exists, they cannot be denied regularisation and equal service benefits.

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