Court says label was misleading; nurses who worked for years in Mysore Medical College and Research Institute must get wages on par with regular staff nurses until proper recruitment is completed.
The Karnataka High Court has upheld a single judge’s order in favour of nurses engaged by Mysore Medical College and Research Institute under the label of “stipendiary nurses,” holding that their long-term engagement was, in substance, contractual or temporary employment against regular hospital requirements.
A division bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice T.P. Vivekananda dismissed the core challenge by the Institute and the State, observing that the record showed the petitioners were fully qualified GNM nurses who had been working for years, in some cases for more than five years. The court said the nomenclature of “stipendiary nurses” was misleading and that the arrangement amounted to exploitation of their services on a long-term basis.
The controversy arose from writ petitions filed by nurses who had sought protection against termination, renewal of their engagement, and equal wages for equal work. The Institute argued that they were merely trainees engaged for six months on a stipend basis and were not entitled to regular wages or continued service. It also contended that a Government Order dated 26.02.2019, which provided equal wages for contractual employees in autonomous institutions, did not apply to stipendiary nurses.
The High Court rejected this narrow reading. It noted that the petitioners had produced appointment orders, qualification certificates, and experience certificates showing repeated and continued engagement from 2009 onwards. On that basis, the court agreed with the single judge’s factual finding that the nurses were not genuine short-term trainees, but were effectively being used as staff nurses on contract or temporary basis to meet regular hospital needs.
The bench also relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in State of Punjab v. Jagjit Singh, which held that temporary or contractual employees performing the same work as regular employees cannot be denied equal pay for equal work. The court found that the Government Order dated 26.02.2019 could be applied to the petitioners because they were performing full-time duties comparable to those of regular staff nurses.
On the question of service continuity, the court held that the nurses should not be replaced by another set of contract workers until regular recruitment is undertaken. At the same time, the bench clarified that the hospital remains free to appoint genuine stipendiary nurses for limited training periods, so long as such appointments are truly for trainee purposes and not a substitute for regular staffing.
The court further directed the institution to conduct regular recruitment for staff nurses at the earliest in accordance with the Cadre and Recruitment Rules. It also said that the existing nurses, who had been working on contract basis, should be considered in that recruitment process and given age relaxation corresponding to the service rendered by them in the institution.
With these modifications and clarifications, the High Court disposed of the writ appeals.
Bottom Line :
Service Law - Nurses engaged and continued for long years under the nomenclature of "stipendiary nurses" though fully qualified and performing duties of staff nurses - Held, such nomenclature was misleading and their engagement was in substance contractual/temporary against regular requirements of hospital - They are entitled to equal pay for equal work in terms of Government Order dated 26.02.2019 and cannot be replaced till regular recruitment is made - However, hospital is free to engage genuine stipendiary trainee nurses for limited training period and regular recruitment shall be conducted expeditiously with age relaxation to existing contractual nurses.
Statutory provision(s): Government Order dated 26.02.2019, Cadre and Recruitment Rules for Staff Nurses
