Dilip Kumar vs Govt Of Nct Of Delhi & Ors
2015 Latest Caselaw 1589 Del

*     IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+     W.P.(C) 2169/2012
      DILIP KUMAR                                            ..... Petitioner
                         Through      Petitioner in person
                         versus
      GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS             ..... Respondents
                   Through   Mr. Sushil Dutt Salwan, ASC for
                             GNCTD with Ms. Latika Dutta &
                             Mr. Rahul Chopra, Advocates

      CORAM:
      HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KAILASH GAMBHIR
      HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE I.S.MEHTA

                         ORDER

      %                  24.02.2015

KAILASH GAMBHIR, J. (ORAL)

CM APPL. No.655/2015

By this application filed under Section 148 read with Section 151,

CPC, the respondents seek enlargement of time to fill up the post of

Deputy Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in compliance with

order dated 11.02.2013 passed by this Court.

We have heard Mr. Sushil Dutt Salwan, the learned Additional

Standing Counsel for the Govt. of NCT of Delhi (hereinafter referred to

as the 'GNCTD').

Mr. Salwan, the learned ASC for the GNCTD submits that vide

order dated 25.04.2012 this Court while disposing of the main Writ

Petition directed the respondents to issue a fresh notification for

appointment to the post of Deputy Commissioner for Persons with

Disabilities within a period of two months from the date of the said order.

The Court also directed that the post be filled up by direct recruitment.

Consequent, upon the said direction given by this Court, steps were taken

for inviting applications to fill up the post of Deputy Commissioner for

Persons with Disabilities vide communication dated 26.06.2012 and in

response to the said communication four applications were received,

which also included the application filed by the present petitioner- Dilip

Kumar. All these applications were placed before the Screening

Committee and the Committee in its meeting held on 21.09.2012

observed that there are limited number of applications and wide publicity

was not done through newspapers, so fresh publication through

newspapers need to be given for transparency and better publicity and

accordingly, the advertisement was published in the leading newspapers

on 29.09.2012 and in response to the same, 16 more applications were

received.

It is also the case of the respondents that in the meanwhile the

petitioner filed a Contempt Petition before this Court and vide order dated

05.10.2012, the Court directed that no final decision will be taken vis-a-

vis the re-advertised post and the Contempt Petition was directed to be

listed on 01.02.2013. It is also the case of the respondents that the

Contempt Petition was finally listed on 07.02.2013 and the Court

discharged the contempt notice with the direction to the respondents to

ensure fair selection. The learned counsel also submits that because of the

delay caused due to the above facts the application for extension of time

was moved and vide order dated 11.02.2013 this Court granted two

months time for taking steps to fill up the said post. It is also the case of

the respondents that a meeting of the Search Committee was convened on

20.03.2013 and then on 16.01.2014 when the Search Committee had

considered the application of all the 18 applicants to the post of Deputy

Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities including the petitioner only

8 out of 18 applicants were found eligible as per the rules. It is also the

case of the respondents that one Dr. B. Ramaswamy's name was

recommended for appointment and he was appointed to the said post and

to challenge his appointment, a complaint dated 13.02.2014 was received

in the office of the then Minister Social Welfare, GNCTD alleging that

the said officer had no experience of disability as he was in Delhi

Government, Department of Women and Child Development as Member,

Child Welfare Committee. The Committee while examining the

complaint filed against the said officer, found that alongwith his

application, Dr. B. Ramaswamy had furnished two experience certificates

out of which one was for the period since 2003 onwards issued by

Vellore District Physically Challenged Person Welfare Association and

the other for a period w.e.f. March, 2010 onwards, issued by All India

Differently Abled Persons Empowerment Trust and to ascertain the

genuineness of these two experience certificates, the respondent-

Department wrote two letters to the issuing institutions. Both the

institutions confirmed that the experience certificates were issued from

their institutions. Further to establish as to whether these institutions were

registered under section 51-52 of Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, the

Department wrote letters to the Directorate of Social Welfare, Govt. of

Tamil Nadu dated 02.07.14 and 19.08.14 but no reply was received from

the Department of Social Welfare, Tamil Nadu. In this background the

Lt. Governor, GNCTD took a decision to re-advertise the post as in such

a situation the appointment of the said officer cannot be made.

In light of these facts, the respondents seek further extension of

time on the ground that now the process will have to be commenced

afresh and this would take further time. The learned counsel for the

respondent apprised the Court that the petitioner has already filed a

Contempt Petition which is pending before the learned Single Judge and

the same is likely to be listed in the month of April, 2015.

Let the reasons which have been disclosed by the respondents in

the present application may be canvassed before the Contempt Court and

so far as the request for extension of time is concerned, the Court is not

inclined to grant any further time as the period of six months from the

date of initial order viz. 25.04.2012 came to an end on 25.10.2012 and the

period of two months which was granted by this Court vide order dated

11.02.2013 has also expired. It is a matter of record that no further

request was made by the respondents after the last request for extension

of time was granted by the order dated 11.02.2013.

In the present application, we find that the respondents have not

shown any progress after the Lt. Governor had taken a decision vide his

Note dated 7th October, 2014 directing the department to re-advertise the

post and permit the individuals who were under consideration to apply

again and this includes the petitioner and therefore, we do not find any

ground to grant any further extension of time in the matter.

At this stage counsel for the respondents submits Dr. B.

Ramaswamy was appointed as Officer Superintendent.

There is no merit in the present application and the same is hereby

dismissed.

KAILASH GAMBHIR, J.

I.S.MEHTA, J.

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 v