Delhi High Court
Raj Kumar Garg vs Union Of India And Ors. on 5 March, 2018
$~27.
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ W.P.(C) 2013/2018 and CM Nos.8285-86/2018.
RAJ KUMAR GARG ..... Petitioner
Through: Mr.Varun Singh, Advocate.
versus
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. ..... Respondents
Through: Mr. Sarat Chandra, Advocate.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI
HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE PRATIBHA RANI
ORDER
% 05.03.2018
1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioner, praying inter alia
for directing the respondents/CRPF to permit him to join the Force on the
post of SI (GD).
2. The brief facts of the case are that the respondents/CRPF had issued
an advertisement on 28.03.2015, for conducting recruitment to the post of
Sub-Inspectors in Delhi Police, CAPFs and Assistant Sub-Inspectors in
CISF Examination-2015. The petitioner applied for the post of SI (GD) in
response to the aforesaid advertisement and participated in the written
examinations as also the Physical Endurance Test (PET). The results were
declared on 16.03.2016, wherein the petitioner's name featured as a
successful candidate. On 30.06.2016, the respondents/CRPF issued an offer
of appointment to the petitioner for the post of Sub-Inspector (GD) and he
was called upon to report for duty at Karbianglong, Assam on or before
29.07.2016. On 28.07.2016, the petitioner addressed a letter to the
respondents seeking exemption from joining duty by 29.07.2016, on the
ground that he was suffering from an acute back pain.
3. Vide letter dated 06.08.2016, the respondents informed the petitioner
that the basic training for the post of SI (GD) is scheduled to commence
with effect from 05.09.2016 and he was directed to join duty by the said
date, failing which, his candidature would be treated as cancelled and no
further application will be entertained later on for extension. The petitioner
did not join duty by the given date and instead, wrote another letter dated
23.08.2016 to the respondents informing them that he had been advised
further rest on account of lower back pain and therefore sought exemption
from joining duty.
4. Vide letter dated 07.11.2016, the petitioner was informed by the
respondents that his matter had been referred to the higher authorities in
view of his representation dated 28.07.2016, for seeking further extension of
time to join duty and he was informed that if he did not join duty on or
before 29.12.2016, then it will be presumed that he is not interested and his
application would be cancelled. The petitioner was also warned that no
request for extension of time to join the service will be considered thereafter.
Despite the same, the petitioner did not join duty within the stipulated time.
Instead, he wrote a letter dated 23.12.2016 to the respondents stating inter
alia that his mother was suffering from some ailments and he had no other
member in the family to attend to his parents. The petitioner again sought
further extension of the letter of appointment, by three months.
5. The respondents wrote a letter to the petitioner on 03.01.2017
informing him that since he had not reported within the stipulated time
frame, his candidature for the post of SI (GD) in CRPF stood cancelled.
6. Though, cancellation of his candidature was duly intimated to the
petitioner in January, 2017 itself, it has taken over one year for him to
approach the court to assail the said cancellation order. The only ground
taken by learned counsel for the petitioner to assail the cancellation order is
that the period of six months mentioned in para 3(h) of the offer of
appointment ought to be reckoned from the date on which he was expected
to join his duty, i.e., from 29.07.2016 and not from the date of issuance of
the letter of appointment, i.e. 30.06.2016. Para 3(h) of the offer of
appointment states as follows:-
"(h) In case you are unable to join duty within the stipulated
date (i.e. one month from the date of issue of this order) and
apply for extension within the time given in the 'offer' of
appointment, such request may be forwarded to this office.
Such extension in any case may not exceed 6 months from
the date of issue of original officer of appointment. If you do
not respond, reminder will be sent by this office giving final
chance to report within 15 days, within the period of 6 months
from the date of issue of original offer of appointment. In case
you neither respond nor report within the stipulated period,
offer of appointment should stand automatically cancelled on
expiry of 6 months from the date of original offer of
appointment."
7. The offer of appointment clearly states that the candidate is expected
to join duty within a period of one month from the date of issuance of the
order. Further, the para 3(h) makes it clear that any extension cannot exceed
six months from the date of issuance of the original offer of appointment.
8. That being the position, the submission made by learned counsel for
the petitioner that the period of six months should be reckoned on expiry of
30 days from the date of issuance of the offer of appointment, is found to be
untenable and devoid of merits. It was made clear to the petitioner at the
time of issuance of the offer of appointment that he must join duty within
one month from the date of issuance of the offer of appointment and no
extension will be granted beyond a period of six months from the date of
issuance of the said letter. The petitioner cannot be permitted to take such a
plea after seeking one extension after the other from the respondents, who
had accommodated him till 29.12.2016.
9. It is not even a case where the petitioner had approached the court
within a reasonable time from the date of issuance of the order dated
03.01.2017 for seeking any relief. Instead, he did not take any steps for over
one year for seeking legal recourse that too, against an order cancelling his
appointment.
10. In the above facts and circumstances, we do not see any justification
to interfere in the impugned order. Accordingly, the present petition is
dismissed in limine as meritless along with the pending applications.
HIMA KOHLI, J
PRATIBHA RANI, J
MARCH 05, 2018
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