BIJAY KUMAR MISHRA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and the State.

(2.) The petitioners who were appointed on Class-IV posts in Census Department were retrenched. Later, barring two petitioners, namely petitioners no. 12 and 16, the other petitioners were given age relaxation in the year 2004 for being considered for appointment on the Class-IV post in the government. None of them were successful. Some of the retrenched employees approached this Court by way of writ petitions, seeking a direction to the Respondent-State / employer for considering the case of such retrenched employees for the purposes of their being adjusted/accommodated/appointed in Class-IV posts in different government departments. A Bench of this Court allowed such prayer and directed the State Government to adjust the petitioners against available vacancies in various departments. The State challenged the aforesaid decision of the High Court before the Apex Court where the order of this High Court was not sustained primarily on the ground that there was no scheme or resolution of the government for adjusting those retrenched employees in any government service. However, considering the fact that those persons had worked in the Census Department for quite some time and were retrenched, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, as a benevolent measure, directed that those persons, in the event of any vacancy arising in the government departments, would be given age relaxation for one time for the purposes of their being considered for appointment on Class-IV post.

(3.) Mr. Harsh Singh, learned advocate appearing for the petitioners has informed this Court that after the order passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court, some of the writ petitioners approached this Court intimating that no such effort is being made by the State Government to accommodate/absorb/appoint such retrenched employees in different Class-IV posts. Since in the order passed by the Apex Court, there was no specific direction prohibiting the government from coming out with any Circular/decision in that regard and that with the bifurcation of the State of Bihar into two States, the other being the State of Jharkhand, which in its wisdom had come out with a Circular for absorbing such retrenched employees of the Census Department, this Court directed that the government must come out with a proposal to deal with such retrenched employees of the Census Department who had not yet been accommodated/absorbed/appointed in any other government department.