news details |
|
|
| HC quashes seniority list of assistant professors of pharmacology | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Feb 25
Justice Nirmal Singh of J&K High Court Jammu wing today, in a petition challenging the seniority list issued on April 20 last whereby private respondent has been shown senior to the petitioner in the pharmacology dept of GMC Jammu, quashed the list as the private respondent No 4 left the services and remained on unauthorized absence before the completion of his probation period against the post of lecturer, he would be seized to be a member of said service and also directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the head of dept of pharmacology for not referring the matter to administrative department regarding allowing the private respondent to rejoin illegally after he remained on unauthorized absent more than two years.
This landmark judgment passed in a writ petition filed by Dr. Zahid Hussain Gillani challenging the seniority list issued by the authority vide Govt No 283-HME of 2007 dated April 20, 2007 and also seeking direction to the state respondents to initiated enquiry against private respondent No 4 for illegally joining as lecturer and thereafter his further promotion and also seeking direction to the for prohibition restraining the official respondents from filling up the post of Professor in the said dept on the basis of the impugned seniority list.
Justice Nirmal Singh in an approved for reporting judgment after hearing Adv Nirmal Kotwal appearing for the petitioner and Deputy AG Shaista Hakim appearing for the medical dept observed that the services of the private respondent Dr. VS Chopra who was still on probation, by no stretch of imagination can be termed as satisfactory and authority concerned should not have allowed him to rejoin after he remained unauthorizedly absent for a long period not once but twice. The authority concerned while treating the period of absence of private respondents as dies-non and granting further benefit of promotion in favour of the private respondent has over-looked the rule and regulations. Even the then HOD has not cared to refer the matter to the administrative dept and allowed the private respondent to rejoin for the reasons best known to him.
Justice Nirmal Singh took serious note of the functioning of then HoD and said that the act of the then HoD concerned is itself a misconduct because he has shown favour to private respondent by allowing him to join back his duties without taking permission from the competent authority, even though, the said private respondent had not completed his probation period and had remained on unauthorized absence for more than 2 years without any explanation. Court further said that if the Govt employees are first allowed to proceed on unauthorized absence for a long time and thereafter allowed to join whenever he like in violation of service rules, then such an act on the part of the authority and also the employee concerned would lead to creating indiscipline in the Govt depts and as a result of this the public at large is made to suffer. In this view of the matter, Court fully agreed with the submissions made by Adv Nirmal Kotwal that the private respondent would be deemed to have foregone is right to appointment against the post of lecturer as he did not complete the probation period and remained on unauthorized absence. If the authorities concerned are much interested to keep the private respondent No 4 in service than his appointment would be deemed to be a fresh appointment from the date he was allowed to rejoin that is March 9, 1995 as the private respondent again remained on unauthorized absence from May 4, 1995 to October 9, 1996 and as the said period has already been treated as dies-non, it would be for the authority concerned to deal with this aspect of the matter on administrative side.
While disposing of the petition Justice Nirmal Singh further observed that competent authority if so desires shall take a fresh decision for giving appointment to the Dr. VS Chopra against the post of lecturer in Pharmacology in accordance with rule, if he is otherwise eligible and his eligibility would be deemed from March 9, 1995, the date on which he joined back after being on authorized absence. In case the authority concerned to retain private respondent in service, then, the seniority in the discipline of pharmacological GMC Jammu shall be determined afresh by taking the date of appointment of Dr. VS Chopra as March 9, 1995 against the post of lecturer and thereafter further promotion if any, shall be made strictly in terms of fresh seniority position in the said discipline. JNF |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
