SUKHBIR SINGH Vs. MOHAMMAD SAEED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against an order of a learned Judge of this Court allowing a writ petition.

(2.) In brief, the facts of the case are that the appellant was given a temporary appointment as a clerk to fill a leave vacancy in the office of the District Board of Saharanpur. Then two permanent vacancies in the posts of clerks occurred, and the district board appointed the first respondent and one Ram Lai to the posts. The appellant, who had been temporarily appointed to one of these posts, went in appeal against this order to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner, Meerut Division, allowed his appeal holding that the appellant had a better claim to the appointment than the first respondent. This order was passed on 5 July 1955. The first respondent then filed a writ petition in this Court mainly on the ground that no appeal lay to the Commissioner against the order of the district board appointing the first respondent to the permanent post. Mr. Justice Mehrotra was of the opinion that the respondent's contention was correct and he passed an order quashing the Commissioner's order.

(3.) The learned Counsel for the appellant has argued before us that the order passed by the district board appointing the first respondent to the permanent post was appealable to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner's order should not have been quashed. The relevant section on the point is Section 82 of the Uttar Pradesh District Boards Act (U.P. Act X of 1922). According to this section a power to decide all questions arising in respect of service, leave, pay, allowance and privileges of the servants of the board, receiving a monthly salary of more than Rs. 40 and the power to appoint, grant leave, punish or transfer such servants shall vest in the president, and the said powers with respect to servants receiving a salary up to Rs. 40 per month shall vest in the secretary of the board. There are four provisos to the section, but we are concerned only with the first proviso which is as follows: