Jyotish Kaiborta & Ors vs State Of Assam & Ors

4. The controversy relates to appointments to the vacant posts of Lower Division Assistants in the Transport Department, Government of Assam for which the concerned authorities, following a selection process, prepared the select list dated June 24, 2003. The eight appellants in Civil Appeal arising from SLP(C) No.12129/ 2006 were among the 12 selected candidates in the select list that was set aside by the High Court. They are thus directly hit by the High Court judgment. The other six appellants in the other two Civil Appeals and I.A. No.5 of 2009 admittedly did not figure in the select list dated June 24, 2003. According to them, they were in some earlier list dated November 20, 2001 on the basis of which the select list of June 24, 2003 was finally drawn up. Their case is thus materially different from the case of the eight appellants in Civil Appeal arising from SLP(C) No.12129 /2006.

6. After the select list was published on June 24, 2003 appellants 1 & 2 (along with some others) filed W.P. (C) No.6139 of 2003 before the Guwahati High Court seeking direction for appointment on the basis of the select list. In that case the High Court passed an interim order on August 8, 2003 directing that any existing vacancies should be filled up from the select list and prohibiting any ad hoc appointments from outside that list. A similar order was passed by the High Court on March 5, 2004 in W.P. (C) No. 8815 of 2004 filed by one Inamul Hoque (who was at serial No.7 in that select list). Earlier to that a writ petition being W.P. (C) No.66222 of 2003 was filed, the petitioner's in which challenged the select list dated June 24, 2003 published by the Joint Commissioner Transport, Government of Assam and sought direction for their appointment on the basis of some purported select list dated February 21, 2006. This writ petition too was one of the batch of cases disposed of by the full bench judgment against which the present appeals are preferred. The High Court found and held that there was no such select list as claimed by the petitioners of that case and that part of the judgment is not under appeal before us. In yet another proceeding, in Contempt Case No. 314 of 2003 the Guwahati High Court gave directions to the concerned authorities in the government to complete the process of appointment within six weeks in accordance with law.

7. The aforementioned were some of the matters relating to the select list dated June 24, 2003 and the claim of the selected candidates for appointment based on that list.

8. As against that there was a counter claim for regularization as LDAs by some casual employees working in the department. A writ petition being W.P. (C) No. 1154 of 2004 came to be filed before the High Court on March 5, 2004 by some casual employees seeking stay on the appointments from the select list and on the same day (March 5, 2004) the High Court directed the concerned authorities not to issue any appointment orders for the post of LDAs till the next date (March 11, 2004) fixed in the case.

(5) The selections held for filling up the vacant posts of L. D. Assistants in the Transport department including the select list dated 24.6.2003 is found to be illegal and therefore set aside. (6) The Court expresses no opinion with regard to the validity of the Cabinet decision dated 22.7.20005 or its implementation and execution. The matter will be considered, if required, at the appropriate time and stage.

All the writ petitioners shall stand disposed of as being answered in terms our conclusions recorded above."

15. Paragraphs 58 and 65 of the judgment are also relevant for the present and are reproduced below:

17. In view of the discussion made above we are unable to sustain the decision of the High Court in so far as it held the select list dated June 24, 2003 as invalid.