SATISH KUMAR RAINA Vs. STATE OF J&K THROUGH COMMISSIONER-CUM-SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, HEALTH AND MEDICAL EDUCATION DEPTT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AN important and interesting question is involved in the present case. The petitioner is a migrant from Kashmir Valley and possesses degree of Bachelor of Unani Medicine (BUMS) from University of Rajasthan, Jaipur and post graduation degree from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was engaged as a Medical Officer for a period of 89 days vide Govt. Order No.285 -H&ME of 1998 dated 02.04.1998 and continued to function as such even after the expiry of 89 days for which he was initially engaged. Though the petitioner is seeking his own regularization in the service. However, the main issue in the petition relates to the power of the State Government to regularize the adhoc Services of doctors in exercise of its administrative function.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated after the migration of the members of the minority community from Kashmir Valley, a large number of vacancies fell vacant temporarily, which were earlier manned/occupied by the migrant government employees. Some of such posts in the Medical Department also became available on account of some doctors leaving Valley as a result of eruption of militancy. The State Government appears to have made temporary arrangement for manning these migrants posts by resorting to adhoc/stop -gap appointments. The migrant employees who left the Valley and took shelter in Jammu, Delhi and other parts of the country were also paid leave salary by the Government and their lien was kept intact. Since due to situation in the Valley migrants did not joined back their respective posts, the adhoc arrangements continued for years.

(3.) A large number of writ petitions came to be filed before the High Court by these adhoc appointees claiming their regularization against the migrant posts held by them as a stop -gap arrangement. One of such writ petition was SWP No.503/2000. Keeping in view the nature of the relief and large number of such petitions pending in Srinagar Wing of this court, the matter came to be referred to the Full Bench. The then Advocate General of the State appeared before the Full Bench and made statements before the Court, which was taken on record. The relevant part of the order taking notice of the statement of the Advocate General is quoted as : - - " 2. The learned Advocate General informed the Court that the state Government has decided to allow all the petitioners appointed against migrant vacancies to continue till an appropriate scheme for their regularization is formulated or till the concerned migrant employees return to their duties in Kashmir Valley, whichever happens earlier. To allay the apprehension of the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Advocate General also made it clear that in the event of any of the migrant vacancy post becoming a clear vacancy post on any count, or any of such post having already become a clear vacancy post, those petitioners, who are already working on those migrant vacancy posts shall be considered for regularization on such posts.