Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 29: High Court has made it clear that in case the class-IV employees in the Health Department are found to be appointed illegally then they shall refund the entire amount of salary to the department with interest.
The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice M A Chowdhary decided a batch of petitions filed by the department against the judgment of CAT whereby the department has been directed to pay salary to the hundreds of its employees for the period for which they have worked.
“We further provide that the salary, that shall be paid to the respondents in terms of the impugned orders of the Tribunal, is subject to the respondent-employees submitting an undertaking that in case they are ever held to be illegal appointees in an inquiry conducted by the petitioner-department, they shall refund the entire amount of salary received, to the petitioners along with interest @ 6 % per annum”, DB judgment read.
Court said that an inquiry in accordance with law is yet to be conducted and it is yet to be established as to whether the appointments of the respondent-employees are forged, fraudulent or illegal. “Till such a conclusion is arrived at by the competent authority, the salary of the respondents for the period they perform their duties cannot be stopped.,” DB said.
These employees were appointed on different class-IV posts prior to 2010 on substantive basis. In the year 2012-13, the Directorate of Audit and Inspection pointed out that the appointments of thousands of employees were without adopting due procedure of selection and, therefore, illegal.
Taking cognizance of the report of the Audit and Inspection Wing of the Government, the Administrative Department of Health constituted District Level Committees and a Divisional Level Committee to look into the matter. The Committees constituted by the Administrative Department also pointed out that the appointments of these hundreds of employees were illegal and de hors the procedure.
The matter was considered by the Administrative Department of Health in consultation with the GAD and it was decided to dispense with the service of the respondents and, accordingly, the approval was granted and the competent authorities were directed to initiate action against the respondents in accordance with law.
The attempt by the department to take action against these employees by holding an enquiry in accordance with law was thwarted by them by seeking intervention of this Court. On the intervention shown by this Court in the petitions filed by the respondent-employees, the petitioner-department was virtually restrained from taking any action against them.
Since the petitioner-department was, prima facie, convinced that the appointments of these employees were illegal and illegitimate and, as such, they decided to stop their salary. This is how they filed a batch of petitions before CAT.
The report of Directorate of Audit and Inspections, J&K, Srinagar reveals that as many as 2274 employees had been appointed in different districts illegally and the matter was required to be taken up with the Department of Health and Medical Education for initiating appropriate action. With a view to examine the observation of the Directorate of Audit and Inspection, the Director, Health Services constituted District and Divisional level Committees with the mandate to examine the report of Audit and Inspection teams in respect of all 2274 employees.
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