VINOD SUBHASHRAO SHINDE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Rule in Writ Petition Nos.5081/2006, 653/2007, 1250/2007, 5062/2006, 5305/2006 and 5847/2006 returnable forthwith. Heard finally by consent of parties.

(2.) Writ Petition No.5081/2006 was filed in this Court on 9.10.2006. On 11.10.2006 this Court issued notice before admission returnable after four weeks and made an interim order preventing respondent no.4-Yavatmal District Central Co-operative Bank Limited, Yavatmal from issuing appointment orders without obtaining orders of this Court. The said writ petition was ordered to be tagged with Writ Petition No.5062/2006. Thereafter on 21.4.2007 Civil Application No.2907/2007 was filed by Counsel for respondent No.4 Bank seeking permission to issue appointment orders. On the same day Civil Application No.2909/2007 was also filed by the proposed appointees for joining them as intervenors in the writ petition. On 23.4.2007 this Court adjourned Writ Petitions for final disposal at the admission stage after summer vacation on account of paucity of time and directed that the group of writ petitions involving the same issue be fixed in the second week of June 2007. Since the petitions were fixed for final disposal disposal, this Court decided not to hear the aforesaid applications. On 7.5.2007 the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No.2396/2007 preferred at the instance of respondent No.4-Bank made an order to hear Writ Petition No.5081/2006 on 11.6.2007 on merits and in case disposal of writ petition on merits was not possible, to take up Civil Application No.2907/2007 and pass appropriate orders. Accordingly, Writ Petition No.5081/2006 and connected Writ Petitions were fixed on 11.6.2007 before the Court. But one of the Judges in the Division Bench expressed his inability to take up the matters for hearing and hence the said Division Bench ordered that the Writ Petitions be placed before the appropriate Division Bench. Accordingly, this Bench was constituted and it was noticed that in Writ Petition No.1250/2007 involving the identical challenge, this Court made an interim order against respondent no.4- Bank from making any appointment. Therefore, Writ Petition No.5081/2006 along with all connected Writ Petitions involving the same issue were ordered to be placed before this Court on 14.6.2007. Before commencement of hearing of the Writ Petitions, learned Counsel for the parties appearing in all these Writ Petitions were asked whether Writ Petitions could be finally heard and decided and with their consent all the Writ Petitions were taken up for final disposal and accordingly have been finally heard.

(3.) By these writ petitions, the petitioners have raised challenge which is common in all the writ petitions. The challenge is to the process of recruitment undertaken by respondent No.4 - Yavatmal District Central Co-operative Bank Limited, Yavatmal. Respondent No.4 Yavatmal District Central Co-operative Bank Limited, Yavatmal is a specified society within the meaning of Section 73G (1) (ii) of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. It is a banking Society and is under the control of the Reserve Bank of India as well as National Bank For Agricultural And Rural Development (NABARD), in so far as the regulation of banking operations are concerned in accordance with the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Somewhere in the year 1971, the State Government had constituted a Committee for studying the need of the District Central Co-operative Banks in the State in the matter of sanction of posts and recruitment of staff in consonance with the financial position of a particular District Central Co-operative Bank in the State of Maharashtra. The Committee had finally prepared a pattern in the matter of sanction of posts and recruitment for District Central Co-operative Banks in the State of Maharashtra, which is known as "Ramkrishna Pattern". The same was accepted by the Government of Maharashtra. Thereafter, all the District Central Cooperative Banks were directed to submit their respective proposals for sanction of posts in a particular District Central Co-operative Bank in various cadres and the proposals were to be examined and finalized by the Commissioner for Co-operation and the Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra State, Pune.