Chandigarh, Nov. 12 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court ordered the regularisation of services of two contractual assistant professors serving for more than 12 years in the constituent colleges of Panjab University (PU), holding that the state and its institutions cannot "exploit citizens nor take advantage of mass unemployment." The single bench of justice Jagmohan Bansal also advised authorities to consider similar claims from other contractual teachers in view of the judgment, particularly those who have completed over 10 years of service, observing that it would help avoid litigation. The petitioners, Nishi and another, had been appointed in 2012 after undergoing a proper selection process against sanctioned posts. The court observed that they were not "backdoor entrants" and could not be denied regularisation simply because they were initially appointed on a contractual basis. The bench made it clear that the petitioners would be "deemed to be regularised" if no formal order of regularisation is passed within six weeks, and they would be entitled to seniority and regular pay from the expiry of that period. The bench remarked that governments and public institutions had "made hay" from a Constitution Bench judgment on contractual employment. "They have started making appointments on contract/ad-hoc/temporary/part-time basis in every department, including education, which is a character- and nation-building department. Many teachers appointed on a contract basis are getting minuscule salaries even in comparison to regularly appointed peons," the court observed....