Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 27: High Court quashed the communication directing the Director Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) to vacate the office of Director within one month.
Aggrieved of the said communication, the incumbent Director JSS Mohammad Iqbal Najar challenged the same by way of a writ petition and Justice Sanjeev Kumar said the petitioner-Najar was appointed as a regular Director, JSS, Kupwara after proper selection and, therefore, such appointment could not have been taken away by the respondents-Chairperson of JSS without even affording him an opportunity of being heard.
Justice Kumar disagreed with the counsel for the official respondents that under the contract of service the services of the petitioner were terminable by one months’ notice and, therefore, nothing wrong could be found with the impugned communication.
“The services of the petitioner have not been terminated because of his inefficiency or failure to perform his duties to the satisfaction of the respondents but have been terminated under the instructions of the Ministry, which, without looking to the material in proper perspective, has rushed to arrive at a conclusion that the candidate figuring at serial No.1 of the merit list, had been ignored and instead the petitioner had been offered the appointment.
“For all these reasons, I find merit in this petition and the same is, accordingly, allowed and the impugned communication is set aside. The petitioner shall be allowed to continue as per his order of appointment and the contract of service”, Justice Kumar directed.
Court viewed that respondents have treated the petitioner unfairly as it is amply clear from the documents on record that private respondent-Bilal Ahmad Khan, who was appointed vide order dated 29.07.2019, did not join within the period stipulated in the order.
He was yet again intimated by the office of JSS by its communication dated 16.08.2019 to join as early as possible and waited for almost a month and when he did not receive any response from him, he was left with no option but to cancel his appointment and offer the appointment to the candidate next in the order of merit.
It has also come on record that not only the petitioner-Najar accepted the offer of appointment but he submitted his joining report on 23.09.2019 and executed the contract of service with the JSS, Kupwara on 01.10.2019. The private respondent court said, who claims to have submitted the joining report before some senior official of JSS, Kupwara, did not approach any authority in this regard despite the fact that he was well aware that petitioner had taken over the post of Director JSS, Kupwara with effect from 23.09.2019 and was effectively performing his duties.
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