Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 5: High Court today restrained the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department from engaging salesmen and helpers for 7697 outlets without any advertisement.
The direction was passed in a petition challenging the engagement of salesmen and helpers for 7697 outlets by CAPD without any advertisement.
“Pursuant to a policy decision taken by the Government, Department of CAPD is in the process of engaging salesmen and helpers on monthly honorarium of Rs 45,00 and Rs 3,000 respectively to man the sale outlets. As many as 7697 outlets have to be manned by such contractual appointments”, the petitioner said, adding “without prescribing any criteria for engaging such salesmen and helpers, based upon simple recommendations, official respondents are in the process of making appointments for which it is stated that the list has already been prepared”.
“Without issuing any advertisement notice and inviting all eligible for such contractual appointments, the rights of the petitioner as enshrined under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India are violated. The appointments are likely to be made for extraneous consideration on pick and choose method”, said Advocate Rahul Pant appearing for the petitioner.
After hearing Advocate Rahul Pant appearing for the petitioner, Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur observed, “since the issue involved concerns not only the petitioner but is likely to have a cascading effect in view of the fact that such appointments are being made without issuing any advertisement notice and without disclosing non-discriminatory and rational criteria for selection, the appointments, if at all made, are likely to be challenged, which will open the flood gate of litigation in future”.
With these observations, Justice Thakur restrained the respondents from engagement till they disclose before this court the criteria which they seek to prescribe for making such engagements on contractual basis in the CAPD Department. “It shall also be informed as to whether any advertisement notice is issued or is being proposed to be issued for making such appointments/engagements. Let the requisite affidavit be filed by the concerned officer within a period of three weeks”, Justice Thakur directed.
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