Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 3: The State High Court today directed the Government to notify the ‘State Forest Service’ under Indian Forest Service recruitment rules with the direction to prepare a suitable list of officers in the department for their induction into Indian Forest Service.
In a well celebrated and landmark judgment over the notification of ‘State Forest Service’, the Court of Justice Rashid Ali Dar while accepting the reliefs sought by the petitioners, directed the Government to notify ‘State Forest Service’ as required in Indian Forest Service recruitment rules of 1966.
Court after notifying the ‘State Forest Service’ in the department directed to consider the petitions as member of said forest service. Court also directed to prepare a list of suitable officers for induction into Indian Forest Service (IFS).
Court directed this induction should be by promotion in accordance in the IFS regulations of 1966 after the notification of ‘State Forest Service’ is issued. “Exercise to be completed preferably within a period of eight weeks from the date copy of this order is served upon the respondents”, Justice Dar said.
Petitioners had approached the High Court with the reliefs that the respondents be commanded to notify ‘State Forest Service’ as mandated in terms of the Indian Forest Service(Recruitment) Rules of 1966 read with Regulation 5 of IFS (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations of 1966 and include the petitioners as members of ‘State Forest Service which the court granted.
Other relief sought by the petitioners was the respondents be commanded to prepare the list of suitable officers for induction into Indian Forest Service by promotion in accordance with Indian Forest Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1966, only after the ‘State Forest Service’ is notified which the court also accepted.
Justice Dar in the judgment recorded that the mechanism adopted by the respondent-Government for promoting only the members of Forest Gazetted Service to Indian Forest Service appears to be wholly arbitrary, illogical and unjust.
“No justification is left with the respondents to deprive other wings of the Forest Service including the petitioners from consideration zone by their abstinence to take definite, positive and prompt stand for constitution of State Forest Service as meant by Rule of the Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1966”, read the judgment.
Court turned down the plea taken by the authorities that the petitioners cannot agitate their grievance now when they were conscious of the fact that there were no promotion avenues available when the rules were framed in 1994 and the said plea was without any merit and legal force.
While considering the matter in light of the facts and circumstances, Court opined that the respondent-authorities cannot adopt the policy of status-quo as same, if permitted has propensity of visiting civil consequences for the petitioners besides being militating their right of career advancement.
“As a model Employer, State is not expected to remain content in pleading to have constituted a committee to look into the matter, the record of which got damaged in the floods and the draft of that could not be kept” court said. “In case the position was so, they were required to take other remedial measures regarding re-constitution of the committee and have review/revision of recruitment rules as indicated in the documents, for which the follow up was also to be made with ARI & Training Department”, Court added.
Petitioners pleaded before the Court that the post of Assistant Wildlife Warden is a single cadre post having no promotional avenues, therefore, the respondent-State is legally obliged to create promotional avenues for the petitioners having regard to its constitutional obligations expressed under Article 14 and the Constitution of India.
They further pleaded that the promotion being a condition of service and having regard to the requirement thereof, there have to be rules of recruitment governing the service conditions of the petitioners which must provide avenues for promotion.
As per the stand of the petitioners, as pleaded by them, the J&K Wildlife (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1994 puts a complete embargo on future promotion of the petitioners and the fate of the petitioners is sealed for all time to come, therefore, prayed that the Rules framed in terms of SRO 158 of 1994 to the extent same does not provide for promotion to the petitioners are required to be declared as ultravires to the Constitution.
Court recorded that the rules of Indian Forest Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1966 makes abundantly clear that the State is under duty to constitute ‘State Forest Service’ so that recruitment is made in the Indian Forest Service to the extent of quota meant to be utilized by the promoting members of State cadre to the said service.
It is not the stand of the respondents that after the rules came into force along-with regulations framed under Sub Rule(1) of Rule 8 of the Indian Forest Service(Recruitment) Rules, 1966, that the State service was constituted for the desired purpose.
It is unambiguously clear from the stand taken in the affidavit referred supra that quota meant for promotion from the State Service is being utilized by taking the members of the Forest Gazetted Service to man such positions.
As arguments advanced by the petitioners that the State being a model employer has to look into the welfare of its employees cannot be denied. “This roots in the concept of good governance and optimism utilization of talent and human resource employed by the State. Aspirations of being considered for promotion are certainly legitimate one and have not to end in dispel”, the court said.
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