Director General And Inspector General Of Police, Orissa And Others vs Pramod Kumar Sahoo And Others
- SCC1988 Supp (1) SCC 560
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
Where the Government has evinced an intention to bring statutory rules into force under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution, administrative instructions issued under Article 162 of the Constitution cannot be used to authorize recruitment in the absence of those rules; recruitment made under such administrative instructions in contravention of this principle is void and must be vacated. Where statutory rules are intended to be brought into force but have not yet been finalized, persons recruited ad hoc and persons recruited under administrative instructions without authority must be placed on equal footing, and the recruitment stands equally invalid as to both classes. Where recruitment has been invalidly made and statutory rules are in draft form, the court may direct the State to frame and implement those rules within a specified timeframe, and may direct that vacancies be filled in accordance with the finalized rules within a further specified period. Where candidates have qualified in an examination held without proper authority but some have not been called for interview, those candidates who passed the written test may be appointed on an ad hoc basis pending regular recruitment under properly framed statutory rules, and such ad hoc appointments shall continue until regular recruitment is completed. Where recruitment has been delayed due to the absence of proper statutory rules, relaxation in age limits may be granted to candidates in the regular recruitment examination to account for the period of delay caused by the procedural irregularity.
Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.
Judgment
As delivered
1. Special leaves granted. We have heard learned Counsel for the parties as also the intervenOrs.
2. The State Administrative Tribunal has vacated the recruitment made under the Authority of the Director General of Police on the finding that he had no authority to make the recruitment and the rules which were intended to be brought into force under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution were still in a draft stage. In view of the intention evinced by the Government that statutory rules would be operative, we are in agreement with the Tribunal that there was no scope for administrative instructions under Article 162 of the Constitution to cover the recruitment. Ad hoc recruits (respondents) and those who were recruited under the authority of the Director General of Police have thus been rightly equated by the Tribunal. We see no justification to take a different view.
3. The State of Orissa is not a party before us but in view of the admitted position that statutory rules were intended to be brought into force, we direct the State of Orissa to frame the rules within two months from today. At any rate, the rules shall become operative from 1st April, 1988. within three months from that date, the recruitment should be made under the rules and the vacancies now existing and which may come to exist should be filled up in accordance with the provisions of the rules. We direct the State of Orissa to comply with this order.
4. Two vacancies exist. It is stated that there are two persons namely Devadutta Ranasingh s/o Sh. S.G. Ranasingh, Puri (Orissa), Laltendu Roy s/o Sh. Sudershan Roy, who are in the waiting list as a result of the examination held under the authority of the Director General of Police. They are intervenOrs. They should be given employment within four weeks on ad hoc basis.
5. It also appears that two persons being - Anwar Jamil s/o Mawal Box Khan and Smt. Kalpana Mohanty (respondents Nos. 11 & 19) had qualified in the written test in the examination held under the authority of the Director General of Police but they were not called for interview. We direct these two persons also to be given employment by creating two more posts, if necessary,, and these four appointments which we have directed shall continue till recruitment is made under the rules as indicated above.
6. Appropriate relaxation should be granted in regard to the age when regular recruitment examination is held keeping in view the background of the matter.
7. A copy of this order shall be transmitted to the Chief Secretary of the State of Orissa forthwith.
8. The decision of the Tribunal is appropriately modified. The appeals are disposed of accordingly. No costs.
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