SAIKHOM BIDYARANI CHANU Vs. STATE OF MANIPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Y. Nirmolchand, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. U. Augusta, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr A. Vashum, learned GA appearing for the respondents. The core issue to be decided in the present writ petition is the validity period of a Waiting List prepared by a DPC/ Selection Committee in connection with giving appointments in Government services.

(2.) The facts of the present case, in a nutshell, is that the Medical Directorate, Government of Manipur, issued a Notification dtd. 20/12/2016 notifying the list of selected candidates recommended by a Selection Committee in its meeting held on 19th and 20/9/2016 for appointment to the vacant posts of Pharmacist under the Health Department, Manipur. In the said Notification, altogether 82 (eighty two) candidates were shown as select candidates and 9 (nine) candidates, including the present petitioner, were shown as wait list candidates. In the wait list candidates, the name of the petitioner is shown at Sl. No. 1. The said Notification also indicated that Offer Forms will be issued at the Directorate w.e.f. 24th to 30/12/2016 during office hours. Even though the said select list was notified on 20/12/2016, no appointment order was issued by the Government on account of the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct for the General Election in the State of Manipur in the year 2017, pendency of Departmental investigation initiated to verify the selection process and pendency of series of litigations. Ultimately, this court passed two orders dtd. 24/1/2019 in WP(C) No. 992 of 2018 and 29/4/2019 in WP(C) No. 253 of 2019 directing the respondents to expedite the process of consideration for appointment of those petitioners and other eligible candidates to the posts of Pharmacist at the earliest and within the stipulated time given in the said two orders. In compliance with the directions given by this court in the aforesaid two orders, the Director of Health Services, Manipur, issued two orders dtd. 8/3/2019 and 11/6/2019 appointing all the eighty-two recommended candidates to the posts of Pharmacist (Allopathy) with the condition, inter alia, that the appointees should join their respective place of posting within ten days, failing which their appointment will be cancelled.

(3.) Out of the total 82 appointed Pharmacists, two appointees, namely M. Surchandra Singh (UR category) and Umeshwori Devi Nongthombam (OBC category) did not joined their service. On having knowledge about the non-joining of the said two appointees, specially the candidate belonging to the UR category, the petitioner, who belongs to UR category and whose name is at Sl. No. 1 of the Waiting List, submitted an application to the Director, Health Services, Manipur on 14/6/2019 requesting for appointing her against the vacant post. The Chief Medical Officer, Tamenglong informed the Director, Health Services, Manipur under a letter dtd. 20/8/2019 about the non-submission of the joining report by the aforesaid two appointees by giving their particulars and for taking necessary action. Taking into consideration the application submitted by the petitioner on 14/6/2019 and the non-joining report given by the CMO, Tamenglong under its letter dtd. 20/8/2019, the Director of Health Services, Manipur wrote a letter to the Principal Secretary (Health & F.W.), Government of Manipur informing the latter about the non-joining of the two appointees and requesting to convey the administrative approval for appointment of two applicants, including the present petitioner, as Pharmacist against the resultant vacancies occurred due to non-joining of the two candidates.