IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.8295 of 2005 SHAILENDRA KUMAR SINHA Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS ----------- 5 30/7/2008 Heard counsel for the petitioner and counsel for the State. Reference may be made to the order of this Court dated 10.3.2008 expressing its desire to consider the case of appointment on the post of a driver in Health Department. Today a counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondents in compliance of the aforementioned order which would go to show that virtually there is no explanation as to why the petitioner was not allowed to get his document verified for his appointment on the post of driver. The facts giving rise to this writ application needs to be noticed to this extent only that the petitioner had initially worked on daily wages/ in temporary capacity as a driver for the period from 6.12.1986 to 17.5.1993 and thereafter his temporary appointment on the post of driver came to an end. The petitioner being a retrenched employee of the Health Department on an advertisement published in the month of May, 1997 seeking his regular appointment against one of the post of 117 drivers and for other posts had filed his application and had also qualified in the written test, result whereof was published on 17.12.1999. Thereafter, the petitioner was asked to appear in the interview and the driving in 2 which he also successfully succeeded as is evident from the result which was published in the newspaper on 24.3.2002 ( Annexure 5). As a matter of fact selection test came to an end on this day and now only formalities were to be observed by looking into the documents in original and, that was sought to be done in the month of January, 2004. As luck the petitioner could have it, he could not appear on 22.1.2004 for such verification of his original documents before the authorities as his daughter had been fighting her battle to save her life and was admitted in National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore where she had been operated on 13.01.2004. The petitioner accordingly as soon as he was able, rushed back to Patna and had appeared before the concerned Dy. Director of Health on 30.1.2004 and had also produced all his documents, but even then his appointment was not made whereas others who had also qualified like the petitioner and whose original certificate has been verified had been appointed. The petitioner came to know subsequently that in fact 14 drivers alike him who could not appear for verification of their certificate were subsequently given opportunity to do so by a press communiqué fixing the date of 15.12.2004, but on this date certificate of the petitioner were not verified only because he had truthfully stated that he had received letter asking him to produce documents for verification, whereas, in the case 3 of 14 others they had taken plea that they had not received the said letter. The petitioner consequently had filed this writ application for a direction to the authorities to consider his case for being appointed treating him to be also selected candidate in the written test, interview and driving test. In the counter affidavit none of the aforesaid facts have been controverted. It has also not been suggested by the Respondents that the serious illness of the daughter of the petitioner including her being admitted and operated in NIMHANS, Bangalore was a feigned ground or that the respondents had not allowed other similar 14 candidates to produce their documents for verification on 15.12.2004. All that has been suggested in support of their action in not appointing this petitioner is that there was an order of this Court dated 25.1.2006 which would go to show that the matter relating to appointment of Class-III and Class-IV post was being monitored by the Supreme Court and therefore the time limit for verification of certificate could not have been extended in the case of the petitioner. Such a plea of the Respondent is fit to be rejected on its face value in as much as the advertisement was issued in the year 1997 and the selection process had continued more than seven years i.e. upto 15.12.2004 and therefore the respondents cannot have the liberty to defeat and 4 deny the legitimate right of the petitioner to be considered for appointment on the post of driver specially when he had competed successfully in the written test, interview and the driving test. This Court also is not impressed with the concept of distinguishing the candidates who could not appear for the verification of their documents on the ground that they had no such information of verification of certificate, and the petitioner who for the reasons beyond his control could not appear for such verification. If the 14 candidates were given such opportunity to produce their document for verification test on 15.12.2004 the petitioner could have also been given the same benefit keeping in view that he had produced documents to show that his daughter was admitted in NIMHANS and therefore he could not have been present for verification of document on 22.1.2004. This being the position, this Court is constrained to hold that the action of the respondents in denying the petitioner to appear for verification of certificates for his being appointed on a vacant post of driver is plainly arbitrary. This Court would therefore allow this writ application and would direct the respondents to make necessary verification of the documents of the petitioner within a period of one month from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order and issue an appointment letter to the petitioner within a period of fifteen days of such 5 verification. In case there is any anomaly in the original documents of the petitioner, he will be immediately given an opportunity to remove such defect, but in any event the petitioner having succeeded in the written test followed by the interview and driving test would not be denied his appointment on the post of driver on any pretext. With the above observations and directions this application is allowed. ( Mihir Kumar Jha, J. ) Abhay Kumar