Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 24: Division Bench of State High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Sanjay Kumar Gupta has dismissed two LPAs challenging the basic judgment whereby direction was issued to redraw the merit of Constable Operators in the Telecommunication Wing of J&K Police at State level and subsequent appointments in furtherance of that judgment. With this, DB has upheld the Government stand in making appointments after redrawing the merit.
According to the brief facts of the case, pursuant to an advertisement notice dated March 9, 2014 issued by the Director General of Police, applications were invited from eligible candidates for vacancies of Constable (Operators) in the Telecommu-nication Wing of J&K Police.
A total of 2788 candidates applied for the posts and finally a select list was prepared which was challenged by unsuccessful candidates through different petitions on the ground that instead of making selection at the State or Divisional level, the selections were made at the district level, which was unconstitutional.
The writ court, while allowing the writ petitions, quashed the select list and direction was issued to the respondents for framing the select list at the State level on the basis of merit secured by the candidates, who had participated in the selection process having due regard to the provisions of J&K Reservation Act, 2004 and J&K Reservation Rules, 2005. The writ court even directed the respondents to consider the candidates in order of merit against the advertised posts.
In the meanwhile, some candidates filed review petition against the judgment of writ court which was, however, immediately dismissed upholding the basic judgment. Thereafter, the official respondents by virtue of Order No.211 of 2017 dated January 19, 2017 finally prepared a merit list of all those candidates, who had appeared in the selection process at the State level by implementing the judgment of writ court.
After issuance of this order, some candidates filed an appeal along with an application for condonation of delay which was rejected on the ground that the applicants had failed to justify the delay in preferring the LPA.
The official respondents issued Order No.190 of 2017 dated June 12, 2017 whereby 29 candidates from Jammu province had been appointed as Constables (Operators) in the Police Telecommunication Wing. Another Order No.357 dated June 12, 2017 was also issued whereby 155 candidates belonging to Kashmir province had been appointed as Constables (Operators).
These orders, however, came to the challenged by the petitioners-appellants before the writ court by way of fresh writ petition seeking direction to quash the same with a further prayer to restrain the official respondents from allowing the private respondents to join as Constables (Operators). The main ground of challenge to the orders impugned was that the same could not have been passed by the official respondents inasmuch as in an earlier petition filed by the petitioners titled Manmohan Khajuria and Others Versus State and Others, a single bench vide order dated January 27, 2017 had stayed the operation of Order No.211 dated January 19, 2017 to the extent of the petitioners.
After hearing Advocate Abhinav Sharma for the petitioners and Senior AAG Wasim Sadiq Nargal for the Home Department, the DB observed, “by virtue of Orders No.190 and 357 dated June 12, 2017 the respondents had only acted in furtherance with the directions issued by the writ court”, adding “to say that the orders of appointment could not have been passed, therefore would amount to negating the judgment dated May 9, 2014 and rendering its effect illusory to those who had succeeded successfully in getting the selection and appointment of the appellants quashed”.
“The appellants, therefore, cannot be permitted in any manner to prevent the operation of the Orders No.190 and 357 dated June 12, 2017”, the DB said, adding “the writ court has rightly dealt with the issue resulting in dismissal of writ petition. We cannot persuade ourselves to take a view different from the one as has been taken by the writ court”.
Accordingly, DB dismissed both the appeals-one against the basic judgment of 2014 and another against the judgment passed by Single Judge whereby challenge was thrown to the appointment of the candidates in furtherance of the basic judgment. In this way, the DB has upheld the stand of the Government in redrawing the merit and subsequent appointment of Constable (Operators) in Telecommunication Wing of JKP.
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