MAHESHWAR JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition, petitioner is aggrieved by the order of Additional Secretary, Water Resources Department, Government of Bihar, contained in letter no. 99 dated 12.1.2004 directing all Chief Engineers of the Water Resources Department to take action for reverting on the sanctioned and vacant Class IV posts of such employees who have purportedly been wrongly absorbed/regularised on Class III posts from Class IV work charge establishment and also for quashing the order of the Chief Engineer dated 4.2.2004, contained in Annexure -14 directing all the Superintending Engineers and Executive Engineers to take action against such wrong absorp -tion/regularisation in the light of the abovementioned order of the State Government and consequently for quashing of the order of the Executive Engineer (Respondent No. 13), contained in memo no. 452 dated 3.4.2004 (Annexure -5), whereby and whereunder the petitioner has been reverted back from Class III post of Typist to Class IV post of Peon.

(2.) IT seems that against similar orders of reversion pursuant to the abovementioned similar decision to revert all including those who have been working on the promoted post for pretty long time, many came to this Court by filing various writ petitions and except in the case of Md. Nizamuddin & Anr. vs. State of Bihar & Ors. (C.W.J.C. No. 1374 of 1999 disposed of on 31.7.2003), this Court allowed all such writ petitions bearing C.W.J.C. Nos. 3706 of 1997*, 4246 of 2004, 4301 of 2004, 4303 of 2004, 4960 of 2004 and 8073 of 2005. In C.W.J.C. No. 3706 of 1997 Suresh Kumar Rajak, who was reverted from the post of Clerk to the post of Khalashi in the same Department, this Court vide judgment dated 5th January, 1998 set aside the order of reversion and further directed the Respondents to consider his case for time bound promotion to higher grade of Correspondence Clerk in accordance with law if so permissible. The State filed appeal against the said order bearing L.P.A. No. 330 of 1998 which was also dismissed vide order datei 14.10.1998 and against the same Special Leave preferred by the State bearing Spcial Leave to Appeal (Civil) No. 00813 of 1999 has also been dismissed by the Apex Court vide order dated 15.2.1999 contained in Annexure -16/2.

(3.) IN the case of Suresh Kumar Rajak, where the authority had reopened the matter to consider the legality of his appointment after 16 years, this Court in the writ petition filed by him after considering all the niceties of the case as well as legal aspect ultimately reached to the conclusion that the orders of reopening the appointment after 16 years and reverting him to the post of Khalashi were illegal and consequently all those orders were quashed. In L.P.A. No. 330 of 1998 by order dated 14.10.1998 (Annexure -16/1) after perusing the record and considering the above aspect the Division Bench found that the order passed by the Writ Court did not suffer from any legal infirmity warranting interference and accordingly dismissed the appeal, which stands affirmed by dismissal of Special Leave by the Apex Court.