In this regard, let me point out that in the case of High Court of M.P. v. Satya Narayan Jhavar, (2001) 7 SCC 161, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court has held as under:
“ The question of deemed confirmation in service jurisprudence, which is dependent upon the language of the relevant service rules, has been the subject-matter of consideration before this Court, times without number in various decisions and there are three lines of cases on this point. One line of cases is where in the service rules or in the letter of appointment a period of probation is specified and power to extend the same is also conferred upon the authority without prescribing any maximum period of probation and if the officer is continued beyond the prescribed or extended period, he cannot be deemed to be confirmed. In such cases there is no bar against termination at any point of time after expiry of the period of probation. The other line of cases is that where while there is a provision in the rules for initial probation and extension thereof, a maximum period for such extension is also provided beyond which it is not permissible to extend probation. The inference in such cases is that the officer concerned is deemed to have been confirmed upon expiry of the maximum period of probation in case before its expiry the order of termination has not been passed. The last line of cases is where, though under the rules maximum period of probation is prescribed, but the same requires a specific act on the part of the employer by issuing an order of confirmation and of passing a test for the purposes of confirmation. In such cases, even if the maximum period of probation has expired and neither any order of confirmation has been passed nor has the person concerned passed the requisite test, he cannot be deemed to have been confirmed merely because the said period has expired.”
In view of what has been laid down by the Supreme Court, it would depend upon the facts and circumstances of the case concerned and the rules applicable to the person concerned.
In your question, you have not specified as to what exactly are your rules. Depending upon what your rules lay down, it will fit in one of the three scenarios pointed out by the Supreme Court in the above case. Whether probation period can be deemed to have been automatically confirmed will depend accordingly. So, in the absence of full facts, your question cannot be answered correctly. You can yourself apply the above Supreme Court judgment to your fact situation or provide further relevant facts to get correct answer.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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