BIKRAMENDRA KUMAR MAGAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR THROUGH SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND FISHERIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayer of the petitioners in this writ application is to quash Annexure -8 dated 23/10/1998, issued under the signature of the Deputy Secretary to the Government of Bihar, Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, whereby the Director, Animal Husbandry, Bihar, Patna, was informed that the matter regarding appointment and promotion of Technical Assistants of South Chhotanagpur and Santhal Parganas Division was thoroughly enquired into and after an enquiry it was found that the appointments and promotions of all the Technical Assistants were illegal because of the 10 reasons mentioned in the said letter and, thereby, the Government took the decisions that: Notice to show cause may be asked from those Technical Assistants, who were still working, and were appointed directly, to show cause as to why their services be not terminated and. thereafter, their services may be terminated. They may however, be given liberty to make fresh application when regular appointments are made for the said post and their applications shall not be rejected on the ground of over age. It was further decided that those persons, who were promoted to the post of Technical Assistants from Grade -IV, their promotion be also cancelled after issuing show cause notice to them and, thereafter, they be reverted back to the category of Class -IV.

(2.) THE petitioners were appointed on purely temporary basis as Technical Assistants vide Annexure -1 series by issue of the order of Regional Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, South Chhotanagpur Division, Ranchi. On the basis of the appointment letters, issued to them they were working in the said capacity at different places. In the appointment letters it was specifically mentioned that their services were liable to be cancelled without any prior notice. According to the petitioners, the services of all of them were extended from time to time and ultimately, by issue of Annexure -4 dated 04/05/1995 an order was passed that till the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Government of Bihar, Patna, does not take any decision, their services were extended until further orders.

(3.) BY filing supplementary affidavit the petitioners have stated that during the pendency of the present writ application similarly situated persons moved before this Court by filing C.W.J.C. No. 3509/1998 (R), which was dismissed on 18/07/2001 and even the L.P.A. was also dismissed by a Division Bench of this Court. Against the said orders, those aggrieved persons moved the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 5343/2003, in which the Supreme Court made observations and directions to the State of Jharkhand to consider to fill -up the existing vacancies within a period of three months by constituting a Selection Committee and the appellant before the Supreme Court, whose services were terminated, were given liberty to apply against the said vacancies and they were also directed to give weightage of their experience by giving relaxation of age. A photocopy of the order of the Supreme Court has been annexed as Annexure -10 to the supplementary affidavit.