SUBEDAR SINGH AND OTS Vs. DISTT JUDGE MIRZAPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) P. Dayal, J. Petitioners in these 3 writ petitions are Class III employees Function ing in the ministerial establishments of the District Courts in the State of Uttar Pradesh. They were all appointed on ad hoc basisand have claimed regularisation of their services. In first two writ petitions, i. e. 17907/96 and 17683/96 the ad hoc appoint ments of the petitioners have been brought to an end. So in these cases, the petitioners have also claimed a writ of certiorari quash ing the orders ceasing their employment.

(2.) BEFORE the commencement of the Constitution, recruitment to the ministerial establishment in the Subordinate Civil Courts of the United provinces was regu lated by the Subordinate Civil Courts Mini sterial Establishment Rules, 1947, (here-in-after referred as '1947 Rules' ). The expres sion 'ministerial establishment' was denned by Rule 2 (c) of the 1947 Rules as the Staff of the Subordinate Civil Courts consisting of ministerial servants as defined in Fun damental Rule (17), Financial Hand Book, Volume II Part II. According to the defini tion given in Rule 2 (e) of the 1947 Rules the expression 'subordinate Civil Courts' in cluded the Courts of District and Sessions Judges, Additional District and Sessions Judges, Civil and Sessions Judges, Civil Judges, Additional Civil Judges, Munsifs, Additional Munsifs and Courts of Small Causes Subordinate to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad or the Chief Court of Oudh at Lucknow. Rule 5 prescribes academic qualifications which a person should possess for being a candidate to a post in the ministerial establishment. It reads as under: "5. Academic qualifications-No person who is not already on the staff attached to a Subordinate Civil Court shall be appointed to a post in the ministerial establishment unless: (a) he has passed at least the Intermediate Examination conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Uttar Pradesh, or any other examination which has been or may be declared by the Governor to be equivalent thereto. (b) he possesses a thorough knowledge both of Urdu and Hindi; (c) he possesses in the case of a candidate for the post of stenographer a diploma or certifi cate from a University or a recognised shorthand and typewriting institution, showing that he pos sesses a speed of at least 100 words per minute in shorthand and. 35 words per minute in type writing. " Rules 9 to 12 made provisions regarding the method of recruitment. The District Judge is specified as Appointing Authority and the High Court as Appellate Authority in Rule 15, which reads as under: "15. Appointment-All appointments to the ministerial establishment shall be made by the District Judge. Except in the case of stenographer, first appointment shall, subject to the provisions of Rule 12 be made to the lowest posts (other posts being filled in by promotion) from amongst the candidates recruited u/r. 11 in order of merit. (2) In filling the posts of stenographers preference shall be given to officials possessing the prescribed qualifications who are already working in the Judgcship in which the vacancy has oc curred: Provided that. any person aggrieved by any order or appointment made otherwise than in accordance with these rules shall have a right of appeal to the High Court or the Chief Court as the case may be: Provided also that nothing in these rules shall operate to the disadvantage of any person on the approved list of candidates who have already got an officiating chance and not otherwise dis qualified at the time. These rules come into force, whether such person has in fact been appointed or not. "

(3.) APPOINTMENT.-The appointing authority shall, subject to the provisions of Sub-rule (2) of Rule 4 make appointments from the list prepared under sub-rule (6) of the said rule in the order in which the names stand in the list. "