Contract worker not government servant: SC

A person working with a government department on the basis of a contract is not a "government servant," the Supreme Court has ruled.

A Division Bench of Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justice GP Mathur set aside a judgement of the Bombay High Court that had held a contract employee a "government servant".

Reversing an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Bombay, the high court had directed that respondent Girish Jayanti Lal Vaghela, working with the government as a drugs inspector on a short-term contract basis, be extended the benefit of age relaxation for recruitment to the same post on a regular basis.

"We are clearly of the opinion that respondent no 1 (Vaghela) cannot be said to be a government servant as he was working on contract basis and, therefore, he was not eligible for any relaxation in upper age limit," the Bench said allowing the UPSC appeal against the high court order.