Madras High Court· 28 July 2026
Can the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution direct regularisation of backdoor appointments not made through the open competitive process?
The Secretary to Government v. L. Mageswaran
2026:MHC:3154 · WA No. 1946 of 2026
Coram: Justice S. M. Subramaniam · Justice N.Senthilkumar
Answer
No. In exercise of the powers of judicial review the High Court cannot issue a direction to regularise the services of temporary, contractual or illegal appointments. Such regularisation would result in infringement of the basic rights of the eligible meritorious candidates who are aspiring to secure public employment through open competitive process, the legal principles being settled only with an idea to preserve the equal opportunity clause in public employment; irregular, illegal and backdoor appointments therefore cannot be regularised.
Headnote
Constitution of India — Article 226 — Articles 14 and 16 — Regularisation of daily wage engagement — Retrospective regularisation — Backdoor appointments — Equal opportunity in public employment —
Constitution of India — Article 226 — Judicial review — No direction to regularise backdoor appointments —
Held: Regularisation and permanent absorption are to be granted strictly in accordance with the service rules; judicial review cannot direct regularisation of temporary, contractual or illegal appointments. (¶3, 4)
Constitution of India — Articles 14 and 16 — Retrospective regularisation — Length of services no ground —
Held further: Where regularisation is itself a concession granted by relaxing the rules, length of services per se is no ground for permanent absorption or for retrospective regularisation. Writ appeal allowed. (¶2, 7, 9)
In the Court's own words
Paragraph 3Regularisation and permanent absorption are to be granted strictly in accordance with the service rules. Irregular, illegal and backdoor appointments cannot be regularised, since such regularisation would result in infringement of the basic rights of the eligible meritorious candidates who are aspiring to secure public employment through open competitive process in accordance with the rules and through the rules of reservation. Constitutional schemes of appointment are to be made in order to preserve the constitutional mandate of equal opportunity in public employment. Large scale illegal appointments would result in affecting the rights of many eligible candidates.
Paragraph 4The practice of appointing daily wage employees and granting regularisation was deprecated by the Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Secretary, State of Karnataka and others Vs. Uma Devi and others 1. More specifically in the case of State of Rajasthan and Others Vs. Daya Lal 2, the Supreme Court in clear terms reiterated that the High Court in exercise of the powers of judicial review cannot issue a direction to regularise the services of temporary, contractual or illegal appointments. Relevant paragraph is extracted hereunder:
Paragraph 6All such legal principles are settled by the Constitution Bench as well as by the High Courts across the country only with an idea to preserve the equal opportunity clause in public employment to all the citizens. It is not as if, any person having an acquaintance with an officer of a department or a prominent person in the society can secure a temporary appointment and thereafter, get regularisation and such practice is not only unconstitutional, but results in committing a constitutional sin by depriving the rightful and meritorious candidates to secure public employment through open competitive process.
Acts & Sections
Article 226 of the Constitution of IndiaArticle 14 of the Constitution of IndiaArticle 16 of the Constitution of IndiaOne judgment a day. That's the whole habit.
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