ABHIJIT SARMA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, by filing WP(C) No. 9815/03, knocked the door of this Court to invoke the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution by issuing a Writ to quash the adverse notings made against him in his personal file No. 93/2001 and to direct the Government to issue post facto notification regularizing his absence from service during training period at different places and allowing him to join his original place of posting as Registrar of Surgery, in the Gauhati Medical College Hospital by regularizing his period of absence from 26.3.99 till the date of filing the writ petition. In the interim, the appellant has prayed for allowing him to join as Registrar of Surgery, in the Gauhati Medical College Hospital against the existing post that fell vacant due to promotion of one Dr. D. N. Choudhury.

(2.) To put in short, the relevant facts necessary for disposal of this appeal that have emerged from the pleadings and documents are that the appellant was appointed as Registrar of Surgery, in the Assam Medical College Hospital, Dibrugarh, he was transferred to Gauhati Medical College Hospital vide notification dated 18.6.97. The appellant was allowed to join two years fellowship and training in Surgery in Gastro-enterology at Hyderabad dated 18.6.97 with the condition that the period of absence from service would be decided later on by the Government, which would be building on him. On completion of his training at Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, the appellant was allowed to rejoin at Gauhati Medical College Hospital vide notification dated 31.3.2001 against a vacant post of Registrar of Surgery in the Silchar Medial College, Silchar. Immediately after joining on 2.4.2001, the appellant prayed for earned half pay/extra ordinary leave from 23.4.2001 to 23.10.2001 to undergo further course of training at Japan. Although the appellant was asked to execute a bond of Rs. 5i,00,000.00 before he joins the training at Hyderabad, to the effect that he would be bound to serve under the State Government of Assam for a period of 5 years on the completion of his training, the appellant did not submit the same at the time of his departure for training and the same was submitted only on 4.4.2001 i.e., after completion of his training. In fact, the appellant went for training at Hyderabad without having his leave granted by the appointing authority. On 8.10.2001, a notification was issued asking the appellant to join at Silchar Medical College Hospital on his return from training but the appellant did not join rather prayed for allowing him to join at Gauhati Medical College Hospital instead of Silchar Medical College. It is the case of the appellant that he is the only competent and qualified in Gastro-enterology in this part of India and accordingly his service should be utilized at Gauhati Medical College Hospital. The appellant not having joined at Silchar Medical College, as directed, by a notice dated 8.3.2002, the authority asked him to show cause as to why the bond of amount of Rs. 5,00,000.00 should not be recovered from him for his violation of the terms and conditions of the bond to serve under the State Government of Assam. The appellant submitted his reply to the show cause notice on 1.5.2002.

(3.) The appellant again went to Japan for another course of training in spite of non-granting of any permission or any kind of leave by the authority. The appellant wrote to the State Government on 16.9.2002 and also to the respondent Department intimating that he would join at Gauhati Medical College immediately on his return from Japan. In this fashion, the notification dated 8.10.01 by which the appellant was asked to join at Silchar Medical College continued to be, evaded. It is worth mentioning herein that in terms of the interim order passed by the Writ Court on 5.12.2003 the appellant was transferred from Silchar Medical College to Gauhati Medical College Hospital.