Case: Jagmal Singh Yadav Vs. M. Ramayya and Others

again after the UPSCs views have been received."22. It is perhaps because of this that Shri Swaran Singh the then Minister for Works &Housing also endorsed the Secretarys proposal, which was in the following terms:"The proposals are in order and may be approved. After U.P.S.C. have been consulted and given their concurrence, the case will have to be shown to the Home Ministry again who have asked to see these papers after the views of the U.P.S. C. have been obtained."The Minister, Shri Swaran Singhs endorsement appears at the foot of this proposal on 24th September, 1954.23. So far as the records go the matter rested as above and there has. been admittedly no adherence to the quota rule, but on the other hand there has been flagrant violation of the rule. As a matter of fact, pari passu with the proposal there was even a request for relaxation and every thing appeared to be at that stage and for a number of years in the melting pot. This was perhaps possible only because the file with the proposal after the concurrence of the UPSC did not move to the Home Ministry for final determination under rule 4(c).24. It is not possible to equate the minutes of the meeting of 16th June, 1962, with an appropriate order or determination by the Home Ministry. There is nothing to show that these minutes received the approval of the Minister-in-charge. We are, therefore, unable to accept the submission of Mrs. Pappu that there has been a determination, in fact, by the Government under rule 4(c).We have already held that respondents 1 to 12 were duly appointed under rule 23(1) of Part IV read with rule 3(b). They are, therefore, entitled to be considered for confirmation in the Service in Class. II. Since we have held that there was no quota rule, as sought to be made out, on the basis of which the confirmations have been made and seniority has been fixed, we agree with the High Court that it will be for the respondents (13 to 1 5) to consider the ease of the respondents (1 to 12) for confirmation and seniority in accordance with law. As the High Court has pointed out, the validity of the recruitment of the thirty eight direct recruits will, however, not be affected.25. We are not impressed by the submission of the appellant that there was no averment in the writ petition regarding absence of determination under rule 4(c) of the Rules. After a perusal of the pleadings and having regard to the stand taken by the parties before the High Court, we find that the submission has no force. Since the factum of determination of seniority was a live issue between the parties in the High Court, there was no error of jurisdiction on the part of the High Court in examining the whole matter thoroughly and in considering the documents filed by the respective parties after inspection of the files by consent. It is also necessary to observe that even for executive instructions the condition precedent is an appropriate decision by the competent authority and we are unable to hold that the High Court committed such a gross error of law in holding that there was no determination by the Government under rule 4(c) to call for interference under Article 136 of the Constitution.26. We also do not feel justified in placing exaggerated importance on the use of the words "specified quota" in some of the correspondences relied upon by Mrs. Pappu and Mr. Desai. We are of opinion that such a reference to "specified quota" was only a usual way of a compendious expression to facilitate identification of the subject matter of the proposal of the Ministry of Works &Housing in the course of long correspondence between the several authorities.Mrs. Pappu also strenuously submitted that the High Court should have dismissed the writ application on the ground of inordinate delay. We are not satisfied that the writ application was liable to be dismissed on the ground of inordinate delay in the entire circumstances of the case and in particular when we find that the Government did not prefer any appeal against the judgment of the High Court even though the so-called determination of the Government under rule 4(c) had been struck down by the High Court.27. Before parting with the records we consider it proper to point out that persons entering Government service have the right to know where they stand with regard to their conditions of service and future promotion. Since there is no impediment in the way of the Government to make appropriate rules regarding conditions of service, even retrospectively, subject to constitutionality, keeping in view justice and fair play to all concerned, it is a sorry sight to find that officers in the same Service fight over the year s in courts having failed to get redress from the Government. When officers are qualified to hold certain posts after recruitment, according to rules, and they have put in a number of years, without break, in the Service to the satisfaction of the authorities, it is impermissible to invoke a recondite rule and call it in aid to deprive a large section of officers of the benefit of their otherwise satisfactory service. The matter may be different when posts in the Service are abolished, appointments to the Service are transitory or fortuitous or incumbents are found unsuitable for absorption. The history of this Service is that temporary posts are first created and then after some years they are converted into permanent posts. The Government, therefore, cannot merely be an on-looker where it could rightly claim to be a legitimate arbiter on its own authority and having proper regard to all just claims. We also cannot help feeling that thinking in the Ministry has not always been uniform, sympathy waning or waxing from time to time for reasons not always manifest.As found above, the submissions of the appellant are devoid of force.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]It is true that rule 23( 1 ) provides for recruitment by selection after consultation with the UPSC. The particular Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) was presided over by a member from the UPSC. There is Home Ministrys O.M. No. 33/46-Ests(R) dated 17th June, 1947, wherein it has been clearly stated in para 7 asmade by Departmental Promotion Committees on which the Commission is represented should be treated as recommendations having the approval of the Commission, and the convention regarding acceptance of the advice of the Commission willare, therefore, clearly of opinion that the appointments of the respondents are in accordance with rule 23 in Part IV read with rule 3(b) of Part 1I of the Rules. We find that the above conclusion we have reached is supported by the stand taken on behalf of the Government in the Lok Sabha on 7th April, 1969, in answering certain Unstarred question with regard to recruitment to this Service, inter alia, under Partis, therefore, clear that the determination under rule 4(c) must be by the Ministry of Home Affairs at the relevant time and if a decision were taken by the Home Ministry under the Rules of Business under Article 77(3) of the Constitution the determination would be of the Government of India. There is nothing to show tha t there was any determination by the Home Ministry under rule 4(c). It is true that there was a proposal from the Ministry of Works &Housing to which concurrence had been given by the UPSC. After that there has been no further progress of the matter and Mr. Gobind Das concedes that there is nothing to show from the records at the disposal of the Government that the approval of the Home Ministry was given to any determination under rulefar as the records go the matter rested as above and there has. been admittedly no adherence to the quota rule, but on the other hand there has been flagrant violation of the rule. As a matter of fact, pari passu with the proposal there was even a request for relaxation and every thing appeared to be at that stage and for a number of years in the melting pot. This was perhaps possible only because the file with the proposal after the concurrence of the UPSC did not move to the Home Ministry for final determination under ruleis not possible to equate the minutes of the meeting of 16th June, 1962, with an appropriate order or determination by the Home Ministry. There is nothing to show that these minutes received the approval of the Minister-in-charge. We are, therefore, unable to accept the submission of Mrs. Pappu that there has been a determination, in fact, by the Government under rule 4(c).We have already held that respondents 1 to 12 were duly appointed under rule 23(1) of Part IV read with rule 3(b). They are, therefore, entitled to be considered for confirmation in the Service in Class. II. Since we have held that there was no quota rule, as sought to be made out, on the basis of which the confirmations have been made and seniority has been fixed, we agree with the High Court that it will be for the respondents (13 to 1 5) to consider the ease of the respondents (1 to 12) for confirmation and seniority in accordance with law. As the High Court has pointed out, the validity of the recruitment of the thirty eight direct recruits will, however, not beare not impressed by the submission of the appellant that there was no averment in the writ petition regarding absence of determination under rule 4(c) of the Rules. After a perusal of the pleadings and having regard to the stand taken by the parties before the High Court, we find that the submission has no force. Since the factum of determination of seniority was a live issue between the parties in the High Court, there was no error of jurisdiction on the part of the High Court in examining the whole matter thoroughly and in considering the documents filed by the respective parties after inspection of the files by consent. It is also necessary to observe that even for executive instructions the condition precedent is an appropriate decision by the competent authority and we are unable to hold that the High Court committed such a gross error of law in holding that there was no determination by the Government under rule 4(c) to call for interference under Article 136 of thealso do not feel justified in placing exaggerated importance on the use of the words "specified quota" in some of the correspondences relied upon by Mrs. Pappu and Mr. Desai. We are of opinion that such a reference to "specified quota" was only a usual way of a compendious expression to facilitate identification of the subject matter of the proposal of the Ministry of Works &Housing in the course of long correspondence between the several authorities.Mrs. Pappu also strenuously submitted that the High Court should have dismissed the writ application on the ground of inordinate delay. We are not satisfied that the writ application was liable to be dismissed on the ground of inordinate delay in the entire circumstances of the case and in particular when we find that the Government did not prefer any appeal against the judgment of the High Court even though the so-called determination of the Government under rule 4(c) had been struck down by the Highparting with the records we consider it proper to point out that persons entering Government service have the right to know where they stand with regard to their conditions of service and future promotion. Since there is no impediment in the way of the Government to make appropriate rules regarding conditions of service, even retrospectively, subject to constitutionality, keeping in view justice and fair play to all concerned, it is a sorry sight to find that officers in the same Service fight over the year s in courts having failed to get redress from the Government. When officers are qualified to hold certain posts after recruitment, according to rules, and they have put in a number of years, without break, in the Service to the satisfaction of the authorities, it is impermissible to invoke a recondite rule and call it in aid to deprive a large section of officers of the benefit of their otherwise satisfactory service. The matter may be different when posts in the Service are abolished, appointments to the Service are transitory or fortuitous or incumbents are found unsuitable for absorption. The history of this Service is that temporary posts are first created and then after some years they are converted into permanent posts. The Government, therefore, cannot merely be an on-looker where it could rightly claim to be a legitimate arbiter on its own authority and having proper regard to all just claims. We also cannot help feeling that thinking in the Ministry has not always been uniform, sympathy waning or waxing from time to time for reasons not always manifest.As found above, the submissions of the appellant are devoid of force.