Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 31: High Court today quashed the Government orders with regard to placement, seniority and segregation of post of medicos in medical faculty of Government Medical College, Jammu.
Court observed that the two doctors, Dr.Vijant Singh Chandail and Dr.Showkat Mehmood Chowdhary have been litigating for the last eight years and the whole mess has been created by the surreptitious conduct of certain persons in the Health and Medical Education Department.
What is curious enough, court said, is that the Government is not even ashamed of its outright unfairness exhibited by it by its double standards at two different stages of the litigation – one while defending its action of conferring an undue advantage, unknown to law, on one of the doctors and then defending its action when such undue advantage was reversed by it.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey held that the Government orderno.367-HME of 2013 dated 26.06.2013 cannot be sustained in law, whereby the private respondent was given notional effect to his appointment as Lecturer from 04.07.2007 and, consequently, his seniority was re-fixed over and above the petitioner is held to be illegal, violative of the relevant Rules and rights of the petitioner
Court on Government order no.415-HME of 2013 dated 22.07.2013 said this also suffers from the same and is held to be equally not sustainable in law. The Government accorded sanction to the placement of the private respondent, Dr.Showkat Mehmood Chowdhary, on the higher post of Assistant Professor in the discipline of Medicine in Government Medical College, Jammu, in his own pay and grade, based on such antedated notional effect to his appointment and re-fixed seniority.
Coming to other Government order no.22-HME of 2014 dated 23.4.2014 whereby sanction was accorded to the segregation of Dr.Showkat Mehmood Chowdhary, showing him as Assistant Professor (OPG) from the Department of Medicine to Gastroenterology, Government, Medical College, Jammu, and transfer of his lien from the Department of Medicine to Gastroenterology for seniority and promotion purposes.
Court said by using the expression “for seniority/promotion purposes”, the order itself makes it manifest that it was objected at surreptitiously creating an exclusive avenue of promotion for the private respondent and to defeat the lawful claims of the petitioner to right to consideration for such promotions.
In fact, this move had commenced with the representation of the private respondent dated 19.02.2014, which had been endorsed by the Minister for Health and Medical Education.
“The question is if the Government or the Principal, Government Medical College, Jammu, intended to create a separate Department for Gastroenterology, why did not they consider the petitioner who, but for the fall out of the illegal Government orderno.367-HME of 2013 dated 26.06.2013, was equally possessing the requisite qualification and, in fact, was more meritorious than the private respondent and senior to him”, Justice Magrey said.
Court has held that such a course adopted by the respondents was and continues to be violative of Articles 14 and 16 guaranteeing right to consideration in public appointments and equal opportunity and protection of law. “This Government order equally cannot be sustained. Consequently, the private respondent cannot derive any advantage out of the said Government order”, court directed.
Court in order to protect the interests of students and patients directed the Principal Secretary to Government Health and Medical Education Department to maintain the present position of petitioner and private respondent in Medicine/Gastroenterology.
“This arrangement shall remain in force pending filling up of the available posts of Assistant Professors in Medicine/Gastroenterology by considering all eligible Lecturers including the petitioner and private respondent in accordance with rules”, court said.
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