In Brief
The State of Bihar challenged High Court orders directing reinstatement of health service employees whose appointments had been found irregular or illegal. The employees, appointed by civil surgeons without proper recruitment procedures, claimed the right to regularisation based on ten years of service. The Supreme Court held that illegal appointments—made through forged documents, on non-sanctioned posts, without open competition, or by incompetent authorities—cannot be regularised even after long tenure. Only irregular but validly-qualified appointments in sanctioned posts qualify for the Umadevi exception. Void ab initio appointments confer no civil servant status and require no disciplinary proceedings for termination.
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