Patna High Court
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.15674 of 2012 ====================================================== 1. Om Prakesh Prasad S/O Munar Shah Resident Of Village- Sukulawa Kala, District Gopalganj 2. Sunil Shah S/O Dasrath Shah Resident Of Village Gawndri, P.O. Ramchandrapur, District Gopalganj .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State Of Bihar Through Principal Secretary, Personnel And Administrative Reforms Department, Govt. Of Bihar, Patna 2. The Commissioner, Saran Division, Chapra (Saran) 3. The District Establishment Committee Through Its Chairman, Gopalganj 4. The Collector-Cum-District Magistrate Gopalganj .... .... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Abhinay Raj, Adv For the Respondent/s : Mr. Prashant Pratap GP6 ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MIHIR KUMAR JHA ORAL ORDER 3 05-02-2014 Since, this writ application has been restored today vide separate order passed in M.J.C No. 1753 of 2013, learned counsel for the parties have also been heard on the merit of this case. The prayer of the petitioners in this writ application is confined to inclusion of their names in the panel for appointment on class-IV post within the district of Gopalganj. Learned counsel for the petitioners has pointed out that a panel was prepared under the orders of this Court as would be evidenced from the proceedings of C.W.J.C No. 3712 of 2009 recording the preparation of panel dated
Legal Reasoning
Patna High Court CWJC No.15674 of 2012 (3) dt.05-02-2014 2 16.03.2012 for filling up 203 posts. Learned counsel for the petitioner, therefore, submits that exclusion of the name of the two petitioners from the aforementioned panel is contrary to the Government decision specially those taken by the Health Department, inasmuch as, the petitioners would also be entitled to count their experience as DDT/Spray Workers and/or optional workers. To that extent learned counsel for the petitioners has also assailed the reasons given in the counter affidavit. Learned counsel for the State on the other hand has submitted that the transaction of the appointment on the basis of panel which was finalized under the orders of this Court dated 16.03.2012 cannot be reopened at the instance of the petitioners. He has also submitted that the seasonal workers of the Health Department cannot claim their seniority for the purposes of experience in respect of preparation of panel which is based on the computation of continuous number of working days and daily wages in a calendar year. In the light of the pleadings on record as also after considering the submissions of learned Counsel for both the parties this Court would find it difficult to now issue a direction to consider the case of the petitioner afresh because Patna High Court CWJC No.15674 of 2012 (3) dt.05-02-2014 3 whatever decision had been taken by the Collector of Gopalganj district in pursuance of earlier direction of this Court, had actually led to preparation of panel of 203 persons which was approved by this Court as would be apparent from the following passage of the order dated 23.03.2012 passed in C.W.J.C No. 3712 of 2009 and its analogous cases:- "Heard learned petitioners and the State. counsel for the to 16.3.2012, Annexure-B In compliance of the order of the High Court dated 29.7.2009 passed in different writ petitions, Collector, Gopalganj has published revised panel which the is annexed with the Appointment Committee proceedings of dated the supplementary show cause filed today. It is submitted by the counsel for the State that perusal of the revised panel would indicate that the vacancy advertised has also been revised from 158 to 203 and the panel is published following the instruction of the Government contained in circular dated 3.12.1980, 26.5.1987, 25.4.1997 and the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (For Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes) Act, 1991. Rule issued under order dated 5.7.2011 is discharged. If any of the contempt petitioners are aggrieved by their non inclusion or their position in the panel, they are at liberty to challenge the same. The contempt petitions are, accordingly,
Decision
disposed of." As would be noticed from the aforesaid extracted portion of the order of this Court the liberty was not given to everyone Patna High Court CWJC No.15674 of 2012 (3) dt.05-02-2014 4 as with regard to making complaint in respect of non inclusion of their position in the panel and in fact it was only confined to the contempt petitioners to agitate the validity of the panel. For any outsider persons alike the petitioners who could not get the benefit of their name being included in the panel, the respondents have also given full justification for their such non inclusion as would be apparent from the reading of paragraphs 11 to 16 of the counter affidavit which reads as follows:- "11. That so far as the case of the two petitioners is concerned, those petitioners were applicants pursuant to the advertisement no. O.C.-09/2011 dated 14.6.2011 for appointments on Class-IV post in claims of the petitioners were duly considered by the District Selection Committee. 13. 12. That one petitioner, Om Prakash Prasad claimed that he had work experience as Kalazar/DDT Sprayer in the Health Department, whereas another petitioner, Sunil Sah claimed that he had worked as optional worker in the Health Department. That the District Selection Committee after due deliberation decided in the meeting held on 4.5.2011 to prepare the panel in the light of the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court in C.W.J.C. No. 10444 of 2005 (Annexure- B to this counter affidavit) and direction and orders given in MJC No. 3712 of 2009, Kalazar and Seasonal Sprayers cannot be included in the panel. 14. the course of preparation of the panel objections were invited, That during Patna High Court CWJC No.15674 of 2012 (3) dt.05-02-2014 5 petitioner Sunil Sah had not filed any objection, petitioner, Om Prakash Prasad filed objection which was duly considered and was rejected in the light of the decision of the District Selection Committee taken on 4.5.2011 and also in the light of the finding that his length of engagement in Collectorate and Sub-Divisional Office as a candidate Peon is zero. 15. That from the above facts it is clear that the respondents prepared panel on the basis of the length of engagement as directed by the Hon'ble High Court in its order dated 29.7.2009 and in M.J.C. No. 3712 of 2009 and other analogous M.J.Cs. The panel so prepared was submitted before the Hon'ble High Court in M.J.C. No. 3712 of 2009 and in other analogous cases and the Hon'ble High Court disposed of those MJCs after being satisfied with the panel so prepared. 16. That it is pertinent to mention here that one M.J.C. No. 3306 of 2012, Shiv Shankar Sharma and others Vs. The State of Bihar and others was filed on the same ground and it has also been dropped. " In view of the above, this Court will now not find any error in the decision of the authority in not including the names of the petitioners in the panel specially when such panel has been approved by this Court in the aforementioned order dated 20.3.2012 passed in C.W.J.C No. 3712 of 2009. In any event, as per the decision of the State Government in its circular no. 16441 dated 03.12.1980 the life of the panel could not have continued beyond the period of one year and thus now when the panel in question in which Patna High Court CWJC No.15674 of 2012 (3) dt.05-02-2014 6 the names of the petitioners were sought to be included more than a year old has itself expired on account of being this Court in view of the valid and genuine reasons put for not including the names of the petitioners in that panel is not inclined to issue any direction for inclusion of the name of petitioners in that panel. That being so, this writ application must fail and is, accordingly, dismissed. Nothing said in this order however will be taken as a declaration against the petitioners in their fresh consideration for their appointment on class-IV post in Gopalganj Collectorate provided that they would fulfil the requisite condition as laid down in the fresh process of selection. Ranjan/- (Mihir Kumar Jha, J)