1981 (11) TMI 200 - SC - Indian Laws

Summary

1. ISSUES PRESENTED and CONSIDERED

Several core legal questions were considered in this judgment:

- Whether the reversion of Dr. Jiwan Lal and Dr. (Mrs.) Damyanti Kapur from their posts as Deputy Directors of Health Services was illegal and violated their conditions of service and constitutional provisions.

- Whether the seniority list of specialists, as indicated in the Office Memo dated 2.11.1979, was correctly prepared, and whether Dr. R.M. Bali's seniority should be reassigned.

- Whether the appointment of Dr. S.P. Kapoor as Director of Health Services was valid, considering the qualifications and seniority requirements.

- Whether the Departmental Promotion Committee was properly constituted and whether it acted fairly in considering the annual confidential reports for promotions.

- Whether the rotation of specialists and Grade I officers for the post of Director of Health Services was correctly initiated.

2. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS

Reversion of Dr. Jiwan Lal and Dr. (Mrs.) Damyanti Kapur:

- The relevant legal framework includes the Himachal Pradesh Health Services Rules, 1974. The court considered whether the appointments of Dr. Jiwan Lal and Dr. (Mrs.) Damyanti Kapur were regular or ad hoc. The court found that their appointments were ad hoc and thus did not confer a right to the post or seniority.

- The court reasoned that ad hoc appointments do not confer a right to hold the post permanently or claim seniority.

- The evidence showed that their appointments were made on an ad hoc basis, and the court applied the law to affirm that they could not claim regular appointments or seniority based on such appointments.

Seniority List and Appointment of Dr. R.M. Bali:

- The legal framework involved the fixation of seniority under the Himachal Pradesh Health Service Rules. The court examined whether seniority should be based on entry into the Central Health Service or prior service in the Punjab Civil Medical Service.

- The court interpreted the rules to determine that seniority should be based on the date of induction into the Central Health Service rather than prior service in the Punjab Civil Medical Service.

- The court found that Dr. R.M. Bali was senior to Dr. S.P. Kapoor based on his earlier induction into the Central Health Service.

- The court concluded that the seniority list should be modified to reflect this finding.

Appointment of Dr. S.P. Kapoor as Director of Health Services:

- The court examined whether Dr. S.P. Kapoor met the qualifications and seniority requirements for the post of Director of Health Services.

- The court found that the appointment was made in haste and that the Departmental Promotion Committee should reconsider the appointments based on the revised seniority list.

Constitution of the Departmental Promotion Committee:

- The court examined whether the Departmental Promotion Committee was properly constituted and whether it acted fairly.

- The court found that the committee was constituted in haste and that the process of selection and appointment was questionable.

- The court concluded that the matter required reconsideration due to the rushed nature of the appointments.

Rotation of Specialists and Grade I Officers:

- The court considered whether the rotation for the post of Director of Health Services was correctly initiated.

- The court found that the rules were silent on which category should start the rotation, and the government had discretion to start with specialists based on their length of qualifying service.

- The court upheld the government's decision to start the rotation with specialists.

3. SIGNIFICANT HOLDINGS

- The court held that ad hoc appointments do not confer a right to hold a post permanently or claim seniority.

- The court established that seniority should be determined based on the date of induction into the Central Health Service, not prior service in the Punjab Civil Medical Service.

- The court directed that the seniority list be modified to reflect the correct seniority of Dr. R.M. Bali over Dr. S.P. Kapoor.

- The court found that the Departmental Promotion Committee's actions were questionable due to the haste in appointments and required reconsideration of the appointments.

- The court upheld the government's decision to start the rotation with specialists for the post of Director of Health Services.

Final Determinations:

- The appeal of Dr. S.P. Kapoor was allowed, and the appeal of Dr. Jiwan Lal was dismissed.

- The court directed that the relative seniority be fixed according to the principles established in the judgment and that the selection of Deputy Directors and Director of Health Services be reconsidered.