PRAVEEN SAKHUJA Vs. S K SAXENA AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a direction against the appointment of respondent no.1 as Director, Export Inspection Council of India (in short "Council"), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Dept. of Commerce and also seeking quashing of his appointment order dated 27.08.2009. It would be pertinent to mention that the petitioner was removed from employment of the Council on account of misconduct of having physically assaulted a senior officer, i.e., a former Joint Director of related organisation, i.e., the Export Inspection Agency, Delhi functioning under the Council (as seen from the counter affidavit of respondent nos.1 and 2).

(2.) The petitioner has impugned the appointment of respondent no.1 after a lapse of almost seven years. The learned counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner had been working with the Council since 1975 till he was removed from service in September, 2014. The petitioner took 18-20 months to prepare and file this petition. However, it is a matter of record that the petitioner did not raise any grievance against respondent no.1 when he was employed with the Council.

(3.) The petition is premised on the ground that the appointment of respondent no.1 to the post of Director (Inspection and Quality Control), is against the statute of Export Inspection Council (Director) Recruitment Rules, 1991 (in short the "RRs"), is based on forged documents and the appointment has been obtained fraudulently. With reference to the RRs it is contended that although respondent No.1 does not in fact possess a Post Graduate degree in Science he has claimed to have a Ph.D. in Food Analytical Chemistry, M. Phil in Food Analytical Chemistry and M.Sc. in Food Chemistry. It is further alleged that respondent no.1 has claimed to have 22 years of experience in various organizations including a claim of having worked as (i) Chairman, Food Additives Sectional Committee FAD 8 (Food & Agriculture Division), Bureau of Indian Standards and (ii) Chairman Food Additives Sectional Committee FAD 59, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). However, both these appointments have been denied by the BIS in reply to an RTI query sought by the petitioner. The queries put to the BIS and its response thereto, were as under: