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Section 144: Reporting of vacancies to career centres

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter XIII: Employment Information and Monitoring
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 36 of 2020
Section 143 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 145

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 144

Section 144 of the Code governs the reporting of vacancies to career centres, obligating establishments employing twenty or more workers to notify employment vacancies to designated digital Career Centres prior to filling them.

  • Mandatory Vacancy Notification Mandate: Requires employers in designated establishments to report all upcoming employment vacancies to Career Centres (National Career Service portal) in the prescribed format.
  • Modernized Employment Exchange Framework: Replaces the legacy Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959 with a digital, real-time national job matching architecture.
  • Absence of Obligation to Hire from Career Centres: Explicitly clarifies that while reporting vacancies is mandatory, employers remain completely free to select and hire candidates from open market recruitment channels.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Union of India v. N. Hargopal (1987) 3 SCC 308: Supreme Court held that while notification of vacancies to employment exchanges is mandatory, employers are not bound to appoint only candidates sponsored by exchanges; freedom of open recruitment is preserved under Article 19(1)(g).
  • Excise Superintendent v. K.B.N. Visweshwara Rao (1996) 6 SCC 216: Supreme Court mandated that in addition to notifying employment exchanges, vacancies must be published widely through newspapers and public advertisements to ensure equality of opportunity under Article 16.
  • Gammon India Ltd. v. Union of India (1974) 4 SCC 396: Affirmed that statutory vacancy tracking provisions assist the state in monitoring employment market trends.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Ensure HR talent acquisition teams integrate automated API job postings to the National Career Service (NCS) portal upon opening any job requisition; this satisfies Section 144 compliance without restricting private recruitment channels.

Section 143 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 145