MOHAN LAL Vs. STATE OF J&K & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner had offered his candidature for the post of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) at MS Tagan, Zone Kulwanta, District Udhampur, Jammu, notified vide advertisement notice no. DSEJ/RET/4011-17 dated 20.06.2004. According to the petitioner, he mostly remained out of the State since 2005 and it was not possible for him to know about any selection and appointment made against the post. It was only in June 2013 that he heard from respondent no.5 that he had been appointed against the post, but he did not hear anything from the respondents. As a result, he sought information under Right to Information Act which was supplied to him by reply dated 02.01.2014. Therefrom he came to know that his engagement order had been cancelled by the respondents on 31.03.2005 on the the purported ground that he had joined Fishries Department and in his place respondent no.5 was recommended to be engaged. The case of the petitioner is that his appointment order was never published nor sent to him. It is alleged that the respondents had surreptitiously managed to cancel his engagement order and appointed respondent no.5 without his knowledge.

(2.) On the aforesaid facts, the petitioner has prayed for quashing order No.ZEO/K/1835 dated 31.03.2005 whereby respondent no.5 was engaged as ReT and directing the respondents to consider and offer him engagement as ReT at MS Tangan, Zone Kulw\anta, Ramnagar.

(3.) The official respondents did not choose to file any response to the writ petition. Consequently, by order dated 16.02.2016, while admitting the writ petition to hearing, the respondents were directed to consider the petitioner for his engagement against available Rehbar-eTaleem post. Pursuant to the said direction, the petitioner was engaged as ReT in terms of order no.ZEO/K/SSA/979-81 dated 17.01.2018 at Primary School Nakki, Village Sattian. This order was issued with the approval of the Administrative Department granted vide no. Edu/Legal/J/Mis/302/2017 dated 22.12.2017.