In a landmark ruling with far-reaching consequences for thousands of government employees in Tripura, the Supreme Court of India has directed the state government to regularize eight Daily Rated Worker (DRW) employees of the Education Department within three months. The court has also mandated payment of 30% of their pending dues along with pension benefits.

Senior advocate Purushottam Roy Barman, who represented the employees, said the verdict effectively invalidates the 2018 decision by the Tripura government to cancel the regularization scheme introduced during the Left Front administration. He added that the ruling could open a legal pathway for thousands of irregular government employees in the state to claim regular pay and service benefits.

According to Roy Barman, the Supreme Court delivered its order on February 28, emphasizing that employees cannot be denied regularization solely because a government scheme has been cancelled. The court reportedly observed that the Tripura government’s action was both illegal and unconstitutional.

The case involved eight irregular employees from Kanchanpur and Ganganagar, who had served for 25 years without receiving regular status. After being denied justice in the Tripura High Court, the employees approached the Supreme Court and secured a significant ruling directing the government to:

Regularize their services within three months

Release 30% of pending salary

Provide pension benefit

The legal struggle began in 2018 when the Tripura government under then Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb cancelled the regularization scheme. The employees first petitioned the Tripura High Court in 2022, but Justice Arindam Lodh dismissed their plea. Appeals to the division bench were also unsuccessful, prompting them to approach the Supreme Court with the assistance of Purushottam Roy Barman.

During the Supreme Court proceedings, lawyers Ajit Wagh and Marley Parle, working closely with Roy Barman, represented the employees without charging legal fees, citing humanitarian reasons.

Roy Barman stated that the Supreme Court’s judgment could have major implications for nearly 40,000 irregular employees across various government departments in Tripura. The ruling clarifies that cancellation of a government scheme cannot be used to deny regularization to long-serving employees.