The Gujarat High Court on Monday dismissed a petition moved by its 41
former employees who were sacked by the court administration.
These petitioners were among the 94 employees recruited directly by the former Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) V M Sahai using special power, which was later found to be “illegal”. As many as 89 of them were later dismissed.
A single judge bench of Justice Sonia Gokani, while dismissing the
plea, held that the former acting chief justice could not have appointed
the petitioners directly, citing a Supreme Court order that
appointments to public posts cannot be held by nomination.
Justice Gokani dictated the order for more than six hours and upheld the High Court administration’s decision based on the Supreme Court order which stated that “even under the constitution, the power of appointment granted to the Chief Justice under Article 229 (1) is subject to Article 16 (1) which guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment.” Besides, the order stated that “the law can be summarized to the effect that powers under Article 229 (2) of the constitution can’t be exercised by the Chief Justice in an unfettered and arbitrary manner. Appointments should be made giving adherence to the provisions of Article 14 and 16 of the constitution and/or such rules as made by the legislative.”
Petitioners’ lawyer Jitendra Sadhwani said the plea has been dismissed, but he was yet to get a copy of the order. He said that he would challenge it.
The petitioners were recruited by the then ACJ Sahai using his special power to the post of Class III and Class VI categories. After his retirement, 89 employees were terminated following an inquiry by a committee of judges who found that the appointments were made “without using public advertisement” and “no selection procedure was undertaken.”
The petitioners challenged the decision saying they were sacked because the former ACJ took up the suo motu PIL dealing with the land allotted to judges and issued notices to 27 sitting and retired judges of the High Court. In the affidavits submitted in the court they claimed that, “the termination of the services of the petitioners is effected as a counterblast to the PIL.”
Sources: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/gujarat-hc-dismisses-plea-of-its-sacked-employees/99/print/
These petitioners were among the 94 employees recruited directly by the former Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) V M Sahai using special power, which was later found to be “illegal”. As many as 89 of them were later dismissed.
Justice Gokani dictated the order for more than six hours and upheld the High Court administration’s decision based on the Supreme Court order which stated that “even under the constitution, the power of appointment granted to the Chief Justice under Article 229 (1) is subject to Article 16 (1) which guarantees equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment.” Besides, the order stated that “the law can be summarized to the effect that powers under Article 229 (2) of the constitution can’t be exercised by the Chief Justice in an unfettered and arbitrary manner. Appointments should be made giving adherence to the provisions of Article 14 and 16 of the constitution and/or such rules as made by the legislative.”
Petitioners’ lawyer Jitendra Sadhwani said the plea has been dismissed, but he was yet to get a copy of the order. He said that he would challenge it.
The petitioners were recruited by the then ACJ Sahai using his special power to the post of Class III and Class VI categories. After his retirement, 89 employees were terminated following an inquiry by a committee of judges who found that the appointments were made “without using public advertisement” and “no selection procedure was undertaken.”
The petitioners challenged the decision saying they were sacked because the former ACJ took up the suo motu PIL dealing with the land allotted to judges and issued notices to 27 sitting and retired judges of the High Court. In the affidavits submitted in the court they claimed that, “the termination of the services of the petitioners is effected as a counterblast to the PIL.”
Sources: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/gujarat-hc-dismisses-plea-of-its-sacked-employees/99/print/
No comments:
Post a Comment