The top court has held that a deputationist could be repatriated by the competent authority anytime.
"We may mention here that [a] deputationist by no stretch of imagination and in the absence of any specific provision of law can ask to serve the total period of deputation,” read a 12-page judgment authored by Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi while rejecting a petition against the order of the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) in a service matter.
“[They] can be repatriated being a deputationist by the competent authority in the interest of exigency of service as and when so desired and such order of the competent authority cannot be questioned,” it added.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, led by Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, heard the matter.
The verdict also noted that the Civil Servants Act, 1973 and ESTA Code (Civil Establishment Code -- a vast compendium of operating procedures and regulations governing every aspect of government service) were silent about the fact that a deputationist must serve their entire period of assignment and this omission seemed deliberate, enabling the competent authority to utilise the service of an employee in the manner as it might deemed fit and proper.
"The period of deputation can at best be equated to that of an expression of the maximum period which can be curtailed or extended by the competent authority and no legal or vested rights whatsoever are available to a deputationist to serve his entire period of deputation in the borrowing department," the judgment added.
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The court also noted that deputation within a government department held a significant role, necessitating recruitment under exceptional circumstances when there was a lack of expertise there in the relevant subject or field.
"In such situations, the prescribed procedure outlined in Rule 20-A of the Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion, and Transfer) Rules, 1973, must be adhered to. However, it is imperative to emphasise that deputation should not entail an indefinite period of service but should conform to the specified duration for the deputation,” the verdict read.
“The normal period of deputation is three years and the concerned officer has to report back after completion of his three years period unless it has been extended to further two years and the maximum period is five years in terms of Serial No.27 (iv) of ESTA Code Volume-I, whereby both the borrowing and lending organisation[s] should ensure immediate repatriation of the deputationist,” it continued.
The judgment stated that the period of deputation had to be defined specifically and after its expiry, the officer should automatically be relieved from their office duties, unless their time had been extended.
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