Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Tuesday said that the state government has not yet arrived at a final decision regarding the High Court verdict that struck down the state’s long-standing policy of recruiting employees on a fixed-pay basis. Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said consultations are currently underway among ministers and senior officials to examine the implications of the judgment. “Discussions are ongoing after the High Court’s decision to do away with the fixed-pay recruitment system. The verdict has both positive and negative aspects,” Saha said. He noted that the five-year fixed-pay appointment system had been implemented continuously by the previous government, indicating that the policy was not introduced by the present dispensation. Observers have pointed out that implementation of the court’s order could place additional financial strain on the state, which is already facing pressure due to demands related to the Central Pay Commission.
The final judgment was delivered by a division bench of the Tripura High Court comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit, following multiple writ petitions filed by employees affected by the policy. Senior advocate Purushottam Roy Barman, who represented the petitioners, told reporters that the High Court had clearly ruled that appointing teachers, non-teaching staff and other government employees on fixed pay for extended periods was unconstitutional and amounted to a violation of fundamental rights.
