STATE OF BIHAR Vs. DEVENDRA SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment shall dispose of two sets of appeals; one by the State arising out of an order dated July 12, 2011 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Patna (for short, 'High Court') whereby, the appeals filed by the State were dismissed directed against the order passed by the learned Single Judge on October 6, 2009; and another set of appeals arising out of an order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court on September 24, 2014 whereby the order passed by the learned single Bench on October 6, 2009 was set aside. Some other Appeals are also on board against the orders passed by the High Court on other dates.

(2.) Since the issue in the appeals is common arising out of same or similar facts, therefore, such appeals have been taken up for hearing together.

(3.) Brief facts leading to the present appeals are that large number of candidates were appointed against Class III or Class IV posts in the Health Department in Government of Bihar till 1990 or so. The services of such employees were terminated which led to number of writ petitions before the High Court. The first round of cases came to end with the order of three Judge Bench of this Court reported as Ashwani Kumar & Ors. v. State of Bihar & Ors., 1997 2 SCC 1 . This Court held that recruitments made by Dr. Mallick were arbitrary, capricious, null and void after considering the Government order dated December 3, 1980 as well as Government resolution dated March 25, 1983. It was also held that none of the appointees have any accrued right in the absence of sanctioned posts. It was held that the whole exercise remained in the realm of an unauthorised adventure. Nothing could come out of nothing. Ex nihilo nihil fit. Zero multiplied by zero remains zero. It was held that army of employees under the Scheme had got to be cleared lock, stock and barrel so that public confidence in Government administration would not get shattered and arbitrary actions would not get sanctified.