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| SC quashed select list prepared in 1995 for induction into IFS | | |
Jammu, March 07, 2007
Supreme Court in an appeal filed against the judgment J&K High Court dated May 26, 1999 in LPA, has allowed the appeal and judgments of the Division Bench as well as the Single Bench of J&K High Court are set-aside. The impugned select list of September 12, 1995 (for induction into Indian Forest Service) quashed.
This landmark judgment passed in an appeal filed by Mr. Vijay Singh Charka Vs Union of India and Others which was listed before a Bench of Supreme Court of India comprising Justice SB Sinha and Justice Markandey Katju after hearing Advocate Rajeev Sharma appearing for the appellant and Advocates Shakeel Ahme, Anis Suhrawardy and Shreekant N Terdal, directed State of J&K to prepare a fresh select list for each year separately considering only those officers who are eligible for selection in that particular year. This exercise must be completed as expeditiously as possible. Any selection made in pursuance of the select list September 12, 1995 stands quashed.
This landmark judgment written by Justice Markandey Katju for the bench observed that the fact of the case are that a select list dated March 28, 1991 was prepared for induction of State Forest Service Officials of J&K into the Indian Forest Service. The appellants name figured in the select list at serial No 26. The total numbers of vacancies were 35 and ordinarily the appellant should have been selected and appointed. However, the select list was challenged in a batch of writ petitions which were disposed of by a Division Bench of the J&K High Court on March 12, 1993 and reproduced the operative portion of the order “In case the petitioners withdraw the writ petitions, Government shall refer the proposed select list of IFS of 1991 back to selection committee where the points raised by the petitioners and respondents will be considered under rules by the said selection committee. The final list approved by the selection committee shall be final and binding on the parties. In view of the above assurance the counsels for the petitioners submits that they do not want to press the petitions and the same be dismissed as withdrawn”.
SC while allowing the appeal observed that “we were surprised to read the order dated March 12, 1993 when a select list is challenged, the High Court can either quashed the select list in question if it find it invalid or it can uphold the validity of the list, but instead of taking recourse to either of these two courses of action, the Division Bench devised a third method of disposing of the case which in our opinion was holy unjustified and unwarranted”. The Division Bench by its order dated March 12, 1993 sent backs the select list to the selection committee for considering the points raised by the petitioners. In this way the High Court practically abdicated its function. It was the duty of the High Court to decide the controversy as to whether the select list March 28, 1991 was valid or not, and it was wholly unjustified and improper on its part to refuse to perform its function and instead send the matter back to the selection committee.
SC further observed that what has happened, subsequent to the High Court order March 12, 1993 a fresh exercise was undertaken by the State Govt and prepared a select list on September 12, 1995. The appellant’s name was not in that select list. It appears that the select list of September 12, 1995 has clubbed together the vacancies for the period 1991-1995, which in the opinion of the Court were in violation of regulation 5 of the Indian Forest Services (recruitment) rules 1965. In the select list many persons who were not eligible for the selection for the year 1991 have been included, while the appellant has been excluded. However the judgment dated September 24, 1998 the Single Judge of the J&K High Court dismissed the petition filed the appellant, thereafter the appellant filed LPA before DB of the same High Court which was also dismissed by impugned judgment dated may 26, 1999. Against this judgment filed this SLP, which was allowed with the observations a select list can only be prepared for a particular year and only those are eligible in that particular year alone can be considered for selection in the select list. Even if the select list is not prepared in that very year, it will relate back to that particular year. In the present case a select list had to be prepared for the year 1991, only those officers who were eligible for induction into the IFS in the year 1991 could have been considered in the select list for the year 1991. It is obvious that clubbing is illegal. Since clubbing has been done for vacancies arising between 1991 to 1995 in the IFS, this was clearly illegal in view of the decision in union of India Vs Vipin Chandra Hira lal Shah of Supreme Court. With these observations, the SC allowed the appeal and set-aside the judgments of Division Bench as well as the Single Bench resultantly the select list of September 12, 1995 is quashed. Any selection made in pursuance of this select list stands quashed. |
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