SATNAM SINGH Vs. J.S. CHAUHAN ETC.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under clause 10 of the Letters Patent is directed against the order of a learned Single Judge dated September 13, 1971, accepting the writ petition of J. S. Chuhan and M. K. Puri. respondents 1 and 2. The appeal is being decided ex parte against respondents 1 and 2 as there is no representation on their behalf. Only respondent 3, the State of Haryana. has contested the appeal.

(2.) The facts are that the appellant and the said two respondents along with Sohan Singh Dosanjh were recruited as Assistant Registrars, Co-operative Societies, in East Punjab Provincial Co-operative Service Class II, in January, 1950. They were first appointed as Probationary Assistant Registrars and were thereafter confirmed". The question arose with regard to their seniority. The appellant had joined service last of all as he was previously employed in the Custodian Department. Prior to joining that office, the appellant had served in the Army for some time and in 1954 he applied for being given the benefit of his war service in accordance with the provisions of Rule 6 of the Punjab Government Service (War) Amendment Rules, 1943. His representation was accepted by the Punjab Government and the acceptance was conveyed to him by letter dated February 28, 1958. As a result of that order, the date of his joining service was fixed as February 11, 1949, and the date of his confirmation was accelerated to February 11, 1954, in place of the original date of December 9, 1955. Against this order. Chuhan and Puri filed a representation which was rejected by the State Government on March 3, 1960. These respondents then submitted a memorial to the Governor on April 6, 1960, which was accepted on March 24, 1961 and the benefit of war service allowed to the appellant was withdrawn. The appellant then made a representation on 19-9-1961 which was rejected by the State Govt. on March 5, 1963. He submitted a memorial to the Governor on September 27, 1963, which was rejected on January 8, 1964. Subsequently, the State Establishment Board was constituted, after Shri Partap Singh Kairon resigned as Chief Minister, to look into the cases of undeserved appointments and promotions etc., alleged to have "been made by Shri Kairon during his regime as Chief Minister. The appellant submitted a representation dated September 10, 1964, to the Board praying for the reversal of the order of the Governor dated March 24, 1961. That representation was entertained and the order thereon was passed by the Special Secretary to the Governor, Punjab, reading as under :

(3.) The learned counsel for the appellant has then relied on a Full Bench decision of the Patna High Court in S. A. F. Abbad v. State of Bihar, 1970 AIR(Pat) 397 Head-note (A), on which the learned counsel has relied, reproduces the opinion of Misra, C. J., one of the three Judges constituting the Bench, which is not the decision of the Full Bench. Sinha, J., noticed the submission of Mr. Daphtary on the point but did not express any opinion thereon while Untwalia, J., expressed a contrary opinion in paragraph 36 of the report which reads as under :