VILAYAT ALI Vs. STATE OF JK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Ali Mohammad Magrey; J: 1. Through the medium of the instant petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Sec. 103 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, the petitioners have craved the indulgence of this Court in granting them the following relief(s):

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that the respondent Board, in 2013 and 2016, issued advertisement notices inviting applications for making selection/ appointment to various posts, including the posts of Executive Officer, Assistant Executive Officers and Junior Statistical Assistants. The petitioners plead that they, being fully eligible, submitted their application forms and process of selection against the posts aforesaid was carried out by the respondents. Upon completion of the selection process, it is stated that the petitioners were appointed, whereafter they joined their duties and are, since then, performing their duties with the respondent Board. During their continuation as such, the petitioners, through the medium of a news item published in one of the newspapers, namely, "State Times", came to know that the respondent Government is going to cancel the recruitments made in the respondent Board on the basis of the report of a Committee constituted by the Government known as the Goyal Committee. Upon gaining the knowledge of the aforesaid news, the petitioners approached the respondent Board for seeking information as regards the process, if any, initiated by the Board for holding the enquiry, whereby they were provided the copies of number of Government orders, in terms whereof enquiry was directed to be initiated with respect to selections made in the respondent Board. In view of the fact that the petitioners did not have knowledge about the aforesaid process nor were they provided any opportunity of being heard on the subject, the petitioners approached this Court through the medium of writ petitions, being SWP Nos. 2793/2018 and 2795/2018. It is stated that this Court, in one of the said petitions, was pleased to direct the respondents not to cancel the appointment of the petitioners unless they are heard. Thereafter, as stated, both the writ petitions were clubbed by this Court and, vide order dated 12th of December, 2018, a direction was issued to the respondents that in the event any action is proposed to be taken against the petitioners, the petitioners may be heard before proceeding further. However, by Government Order No. 127-IND of 2019 dated 28th of June, 2019, while accepting the report of the enquiry Committee, the Government has ordered that all the selections made in the respondent Board pursuant to advertisement notice No. KVIB/01 of 2016 dated 8th of October, 2016 are quashed/ cancelled. It is this order that has been assailed by the petitioners herein this petition on the grounds detailed out in the petition.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners, being possessed of the requisite qualification for being appointed to the posts in question, participated in the process of selection initiated by the respondents and, on the basis of their merit, were duly appointed in the respondent Board. It is stated that the petitioners, after joining their services in the respondent Board, have since been performing their duties to the satisfaction of the respondents and, therefore, they cannot be terminated from service at this stage of their career, that too, without providing any opportunity of being heard to them.