YASH PAUL GUPTA Vs. S S ANAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under the Letters Patent is directed against an order of a learned Judge of this Court, dismissing the appellant's writ petition, and upholding the order passed against him by the Estates Officer, evicting him from a public premises.

(2.) Put briefly, the facts leading to this appeal are as follows : The petitioner is an A-Grade Physician Specialist in the Department of Health and Family Planning. While posted at SMGS Hospital, Jammu, he was allotted Government Hospital, Quarter No. 3, situate at Ajayib Ghar, Jammu, on 10th May, 1973. A post of Professor of Medicine having fallen vacant in the Govt. Medical College, Jammu, 7 candidates were interviewed by the Selection Committee constituted for the purpose, out of whom the appellant was also one. The appellant, according to the respondents, not having been selected for the post was transferred to Govt. Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, and was also called upon to vacate the premises allotted to him which he was not entitled to retain; the SMGS Hospital being attached to the Govt. Medical College, Jammu. The petitioner, having failed to vacate the premises, a notice under Section 4 of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1959 (hereinafter the Eviction Act) was issued to him, calling upon him to show cause on or before 26th August, 1975, as to why he should not be evicted from the said premises. The appellant appeared before the Estates Officer on 26th August, 1975 and was given time for filing objections by or on 1st Sept. 1975. On 1st of September, 1975, however, he made an application that he was not unauthorised occupant and sought further time to file objections, at the same time making a prayer that in order to enable him to give an effective reply to the show cause notice, a file mentioned in the application may be got summoned. The Estates Officer, however, treated this application as written objections, and fixed 15th Sept. 1975 as the date for hearing, at the same time summoning some record from the SMGS Hospital, Jammu. On I5th Sept. 1975, the Estates Officer on perusal of the file summoned, held that the allotment of the appellant consequent upon his transfer from SMGS Hospital to Govt. Hospital, Gandhinagar, vide Govt. Order No. 28-MD dated 26-1-1974, having been cancelled by the Supdt. SMGS Hospital, Jammu, on 19-2-1974, he was an unauthorised occupant of the premises. He, therefore, passed an order of his eviction in terms of Section 5 of the Eviction Act. Aggrieved by this order, the appellant went in appeal to District Judge, Jammu, but there too he could not succeed and his appeal was dismissed. He, therefore, challenged both the orders, i.e. of the Estates Officer, respondent No. 4, and the District Judge, respondent No. 3, as well as Notice No. MB-Misc. GM/74(i) dated 11-7-1974 issued to him by respondent No. 1 for intiating disciplinary proceedings against him, in a writ petition. Whereas he challenged the notice issued by respondent No. 1 on the ground that it was without jurisdiction and mala fide, he challenged the eviction order on two grounds. One, that it was against the provisions of Sections 4 and 5 of the Eviction Act, and two, that it was actuated by malice. The learned single Judge, who heard the petition dismissed the same by holding that no mala fides were established as the allegations of mala fides were vague and indefinite, and that no infraction of Sections 4 and 5 of the Eviction Act was proved. No finding one way or the other was, however, given by him in regard to the notice issued by respondent No. 1. This appeal is directed against the aforesaid order of the learned single Judge, which came to be passed on 20-2-1976.

(3.) Before this appeal could be taken up for final arguments, an application was made by the appellant that the respondents be directed to produce in the Court the Minutes of the Selection Committee which had interviewed the candidates in connection with the appointment of Professor of Medicine in Govt. Medical College, Jammu. This Bench on 16th December, 1978, directed the respondents to produce the aforesaid . Minutes, or if no such Minutes were at all maintained, then an affidavit of the Officer concerned to that effect. No Minutes were produced. On the other hand, affidavit of one Ghanshyam, Dy. Secretary to Government Medical Education Department, was produced, the contents whereof we shall discuss a little later.