Courts Cannot Compel Employers to Retain Contractual Employees or Modify Employment Terms: Jammu and Kashmir High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court recently dismissed a plea filed by 150 contractual healthcare workers who sought the continuation of their services at the Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu. The petitioners had been hired during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the temporary staffing arrangement for 500-bedded COVID hospitals in Jammu and Srinagar. The High Court reaffirmed that once a contract of employment has been mutually agreed…