Summary: A group of watchmen from Nashik, working for the Forest Development Corporation, have won a court case making their jobs permanent. This decision came after years of temporary employment and court proceedings.
On December 24, 2025, the Bombay High Court made an important decision involving the Forest Development Corporation, Nashik. The case was about several complaints filed by the Corporation against its employees, who worked as watchmen. These employees were hired between 1977 and 1992 and had been working continuously without being made permanent employees.
The issue began with 99 complaints filed under a law that protects workers from unfair treatment. The workers claimed they were being treated unfairly because they weren't given permanent jobs despite working more than 240 days each year.
"The watchmen were working with the Forest Development Corporation without any break in service since their respective dates of joining."
The court in Nashik initially ruled in favor of the employees on July 31, 2000. It found that the Corporation was treating the workers unfairly. The court ordered that the employees be given permanent jobs and the benefits that come with it, starting from April 1, 1998.
The Corporation challenged this decision, but the appeals were dismissed by the judge. The case was then brought to the High Court, where Judges G. S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe agreed with the previous decisions. They confirmed that the employees should be made permanent because they had been working continuously.
"The Forest Development Corporation was told to stop treating the workers unfairly."
The Corporation argued that the employees were hired temporarily under government programs and that there were no official positions for permanent jobs. However, the court found that the work was ongoing and the employees had a legitimate claim to permanent jobs.
The court's decision supports the rights of workers to be made permanent employees when they have been working for a long time. The court ordered the Forest Development Corporation to make the watchmen permanent employees and give them all the benefits they deserve.
Disclaimer: The names used in this report are fictitious and have been added for privacy reasons.
