ARUN KUMAR MODI Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition and 39 others, detailed in the Schedule, annexed herewith arise in similar circumstances and raise identical questions of law and, therefore, they are disposed of by a common order.

(2.) I may briefly give the facts of one out of them. The petitioner In Civil Writ Petition No 22A5 of 1973, Dr. Arun Kumar Modi was appointed on December 18, 1969 as a Civil Assistant Surgeon in a temporary capacity by* the order of the Director, Medical and Health Services, Rajasthan. The order of appointment of the petitioner has been placed on record as document No. 1. Ii is mentioned therein that the petitioner was appointed as a Civil Assistant Surgeon in a temporary capacity on the monthly salary of Rs. 375/ in the grade of Rs. 375 -25 550 -30 -850 375 -25 550 -30 -850 together with admissible allowances, from the date of his taking over charge of the said post till any person selected for the post of Civil Assistant Surgeon by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, Ajmer (hereinafter refersed to as 'the Commission'), Departmental Promotion Committee, Jaipur was available The petitioner took charge of the post of Civil Assistant Surgeon in pursuance of the aforesaid order of his appointment on January 2, 1970, and continued to discharge the duties of the said post at various places in Rajasthan as directed from time to timi by the Director, Madical and Health Servicer, Rajashan The petitioner's case is that the period of his temporary service was extended from time to time with the concurrence of the Commission and the was permitted to draw his salary on provisional basis in pursuance of the order of the State. Government. Copies of four such orders conveying the sanction of the Governor regarding the payment of salary for different periods, on provisional basis to the petitioner and several other Civil Assistant (sic) liks him have been placed on record These orders authorised provisional payment of salary upto the date spec iced therein or 'till the candidates selected by the Rajasthan Public Service Com -mission are made available' whichever was earlier The Commission advertised the post of Civil Assistant Surgeons in October, 1972 and the petitioner also applied in pursuance thereof. Interviews for the said posts were held by the Commission during April, 1973 and as the petitioner was not selected his services was terminated by the order dated October 9, 1973 with immediate effect, on the ground that the persons duly selected by the Commission for appointment to the post of Civil Assistant' Surgeons were available.

(3.) THE petitioners have challenged the aforesaid order of the termination of their service and the in grievance it that the selection made by the Commission was highly irregular, illegal and arbitrary in as much as the Commission did not on any occasion or at any stage of the selection, apply its mind and much less judged and weighed the comparative merits of all the candidates appealing for the selection, including the petitioners