SHIV SWAROOP SARSWAT Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner was appointed as Assistant Engineer in the Public Works Department in the year 1965 after being duly selected by the U.P. Public Service Commission and was promoted from time to time on the post of Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, Chief Engineer level-II and ultimately on the post of Chief Engineer Level-I.

(2.) According to the petitioner, the State Government on 20th June, 2002 issued an order transferring & posting the petitioner on the post of Managing Director in the department of U.P. Rajkiya Nirman Nigam [hereinafter referred to as the "Nigam"]. Subsequently, by the order dated 3rd July, 2002, the State Government cancelled its earlier order dated 20th June, 2002 and the petitioner has been transferred back to the post of Chief Engineer, World Bank.

(3.) Now, the Petitioner, being aggrieved has approached this Court assailing the order dated 3rd July, 2002 primarily on the ground that the impugned order canceling his appointment as Managing Director has been issued without there being any decision of the Board of Directors of the Nigam although the Board of Directors of the Nigam in its meeting dated 29.6.2002 adopted a resolution accepting the appointment of the petitioner as Managing Director; generally the minimum tenure of a person on deputation is three years but without affording any opportunity the respondent has issued the impugned order which is totally illegal and arbitrary. Relying upon D.K.Yadav v. J.M.A.Industries Ltd. (1993) 3 SCC 259 learned Counsel contended that there is a settled principle that an order involving civil consequences must be made consistently with the rules of natural justice but in the instant case no opportunity whatsoever was given by the respondent prior to issuance of order dated 3rd July, 2002.Thus the impugned order is not only arbitrary, stigmatic and unjust but is violative of the principles of natural justice. Learned Counsel in support of his case also relied upon the decisions given in Babul Lal v. The State of Haryana & ors. AIR 1991 SC 1310, Depti Prakash Banerjee v. Satendra Nath AIR 1999 SC 983, Gujrat Steel Tubes Ltd. V. Mazdoor Sabha (1980) 2 SCC 593.