VINOD KUMAR SRIRANJAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE dispute in these 30 writ petitions relates to appointment on the post of Non -Medical Attendant and other class III/IV posts in the Health Department. There are 137 petitioners in all. The relief sought by them is not the same but as the crux of the dispute is one and the same, they have been heard together. The petitioners in CWJC Nos. 10089/98, 1606/99, 3243/98, 3376/98 and 1768/99 seek direction for inclusion of their names in the list of employees to be retained vide memo no. 139 (11) dated 31.3.1998. The petitioners in CWJC Nos.1809/99 and 2017/99 seek direction for payment of salary. The petitioners in CWJC Nos. 10288 and 10730 of 1998 are aggrieved by the teleprinter message dated 16.11.1998 restraining the local officers from accepting the joining of any person pursuant to memo no. 139(11) dated 31.3.1998 in the light of the interim order of this Court (passed in a writ petition challenging the validity of the list circulated by the said memo). The remaining writ petitions except CWJC No.1938/99, are directed against the order contained in memo no. 84(11) dated 8.3.1999 cancelling all appointments made by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then State Leprosy Eradication Officer. CWJC No. 1938/99 is a case of its own type. The appointment of the concerned petitioner was cancelled on 18.3.1993 itself. He seeks quashing of the said order and a direction to accept his joining after over five years. All these petitioners seek consequential relief.

(2.) THE cases are peculiar in the sense that besides there being a common dispute as to whether the impugned appointments were valid there is a further dispute inter se as to who were appointed. The factual background of the cases, briefly stated, is as follows: An advertisement was published on 23.1.1987 in some newspapers of the State under the hand of Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the then State Leprosy Eradication Officer, Swasthya Shawan, Sultanganj, Patna inviting applications from the candidates registered with the Employment Exchange for the post of Non -medical Attendant. The number of vacancies or the number of posts reserved for the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes candidates were not indicated. Although the last date for submission of the application was 15.2.1987, Dr. Rajendra Prasad started making appointments from the beginning of January, 1987 itself. Such appointments were made not only on the post of Non -Medical Attendant but also on the post of clerk and Class IV posts which were not mentioned in the advertisement. It is worth stating here that after Dr. Rajendra Prasad was placed under suspension following the detection of the irregularities, his successor found as many as 22858 unopened envelopes containing applications for the posts in the office of the State Leprosy Eradication Officer. After the irregularities came to light, vide memo no. 1386 dated 16.2.1987 and memo no. 86 dated 17.2.1997, the Joint Secretary, Health Department, and the Director -in -Chief, Health Services restrained Dr. Rajendra Prasad from either conducting interview or issuing any appointment letter any more. Curiously, Dr. Prasad continued to make appointments and in this process appointed as many as 467 persons between January, 1987 and June, 1987. On 8.5.1987, the Chief Minister directed that all appointments made by Dr. Rajendra Prasad be cancelled and an explanation be called for from him. By memo no. 685(18) dated 15.6.1989, the Commissioner -cum -Secretary, Health Department issued direction to all the Regional Deputy Directors and the Civil Surgeons to cancel the appointments. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was placed under suspension and a departmental proceeding was initiated against him. He was directed to produce the list of candidates appointed by him along with the relevant records. It was only in the month of October, 1988 that he finally furnished the list consisting of the names of 467 persons appointed against class III and IV posts. The relevant records, such as applications of the candidates (already appointed), merit list, the minutes of Selection, roster clearance, interview letters etc. were not made available.

(3.) AS it invariably happens that two limbs of the Government work at a tangent, the then Health Minister called for the relevant file and directed that all the 467 appointees be reinstated and the Civil Surgeons be directed to accept their joining. Despite the plea of the Secretary, Health Department to reconsider the decision or obtain orders of the Chief Minister, the Minister Incharge reiterated his earlier order. On 24.4.1989 vide memo no. 379(5), the Director -in -Chief, Health Services sent a list of 467 persons to the Regional Deputy Directors and Civil Surgeons asking them to accept their joining and send the compliance report. Interestingly the list contained 100 new names which did not find place in the list submitted by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. In other words, while the number remained the same, 100 new names were substituted in place of the earlier ones. The persons aggrieved challenged the validity of the list by writ petitions in this Court. When the fact that the list contained interpolation of names came to the knowledge of the department, by wireless message no. 134(DIC) dated 2.5.1989, direction was issued to the Regional Deputy Directors and Civil Surgeons to keep the implementation of the order contained in letter no. 379(5) dated 24.4.1989 in abeyance. Against that order also writ petitions were filed. One such writ petition No. 3761/89 was dismissed by this Court against which the petitioners concerned moved the Supreme Court and the matter was remanded back for fresh consideration. The controversy was further confounded when the relevant files of the department were snatched by some unknown persons on 15.4.1990 and Secretariat P.S. Case No. 288/90 under Section 392 IPC was instituted in which the police submitted final report. The writ petitions pending in this court relating to the validity of different orders passed in the matter were disposed of on 15.10.1993. This Court observed that there are sufficient materials on record to raise a strong suspicion that the appointments were not validly made. The court however, directed the Government to make an enquiry. The judgment of this Court is reported in 1994(1) PLJR 388 (Nand Kumar Prasad and others vs. State of Bihar). I shall refer to the relevant part of the judgment later.