Himachal Pradesh High Court
Decided On: 30.08.2024 vs State Of H.P. & Others on 30 August, 2024
Author: Ajay Mohan Goel
Bench: Ajay Mohan Goel
2024:HHC:7697-DB
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
CWP No. 5541 of 2022
Decided on: 30.08.2024
Rita Rani ... Petitioner
.
Versus
State of H.P. & others ... Respondents
Coram
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge.
Whether approved for reporting?1Yes
____________________________________________________ _
For the petitioner : Mr. J.L. Bhardwaj, Senior Advocate,
with Mr. S. Partha Swami, Advocate.
For the respondents : Mr. Pushpinder Jaswal, Additional
Advocate General.
Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge (Oral)
By way of this Writ petition, the petitioner has inter alia
prayed for the following reliefs:-
"i) That a Writ in the nature of mandamus may kindly be
issued directing respondents No.1 and 2 to offer the
appointment to the petitioner as Junior Office Assistant
(Library) or any other equivalent post w.e.f. 25.02.2019
with all consequential benefits, such as Seniority, Pay
Fixation etc. and the arrears may kindly be directed to be
paid by respondents No.1 and 2 alongwith interest @ 9%
per annum from the date same fell due till actual
payment;
ii) That a writ in the nature of mandamus may kindly be
issued to recover the arrears from the erring
Officers/Officials including respondents No.1 and 2 who
have slept over the matter for such a long period."
2. Brief facts necessary for the adjudication of the present
Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
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petition are that the petitioner was engaged as a Librarian in the
year 2014 pursuant to her selection by a Selection Committee, i.e.
.
w.e.f. 12.05.2014, in General Zorawar Singh College Dhaneta,
District Hamirpur, H.P., a privately managed college. Her services
were regularised in the year 2017. Vide Annexure P-10, dated
25.02.2019, the Government of Himachal Pradesh merged the said
College with Government College Dhaneta, District Hamirpur, H.P.
alongwith assets and infrastructure. Whereas the services of various
employees engaged in the said College were taken over by the State
Government, the services of the petitioner were not taken over. Not
only this, services of certain staff of other privately managed Colleges
which were later on merged/taken over by the State Government,
were posted in the College with which the erstwhile College where
the petitioner was engaged was merged. Feeling aggrieved, the
petitioner filed this Writ petition, praying for the reliefs already
mentioned hereinabove.
3. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner has
argued that the petitioner was fully eligible to be appointed against
the post of Junior Office Assistant (Librarian) when she was
appointment as such in the year 2014. She continued to serve till
the merger of the erstwhile General Zorawar Singh College Dhaneta,
District Hamirpur, H.P. with Government College Dhaneta, District
Hamirpur, H.P., whereafter her services were not taken over by the
State Government. He submitted that not taking over of the services
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of the petitioner without any cogent reason coming-forth from the
Department is an arbitrary action, more so in view of the fact that
.
the petitioner has been discriminated vis-a-vis similarly situated
persons, as other staff of the College was taken over by the
Government. Learned Senior Counsel has also apprised the Court
that in fact, during the pendency of the petition, the services of the
petitioner have been taken over w.e.f. 30.08.2022. Accordingly, he
submits that interest of justice would be served in case this petition
is disposed of with the direction that the services of the petitioner be
ordered to be taken over w.e.f. 31.07.2019, i.e. the date when the
services of the other staff of the erstwhile College were taken over by
the State Government with all consequential benefits. Learned
Senior Counsel has drawn the attention of this Court to Annexure P-
17, i.e. Notification dated 31.07.2019, appended with the rejoinder,
which demonstrates the factum of services of staff of the erstwhile
College being taken over by the Government which incidentally did
not include the name of the petitioner.
4. On the other hand, learned Additional Advocate General
has submitted that the petition has become infructuous as the relief
already stands granted to the petitioner. He submits that as the
services of the petitioner have now been taken over w.e.f. 30.08.2022
in terms of Annexure R-1, the petition has lost its efficacy. He has
further by referring to the reply filed by the Department submitted
that at the time of merger of the College, the services of those
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incumbents who are not fulfilling the eligibility criteria as per
Recruitment & Promotion rules, at the initial stage of appointment
.
were not taken over and as far as the petitioner is concerned, her
services were taken over as per the decision of the Cabinet.
Accordingly, he submits that in view of the subsequent
developments, the petition be dismissed.
5. I have heard learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner
and learned Additional Advocate General as also carefully perused
the pleadings as well as documents appended therewith.
6. The facts as stand narrated hereinabove are not in
dispute. It is a matter of record that at the time when the erstwhile
General Zorawar Singh College Dhaneta, District Hamirpur, H.P. was
merged with Government College Dhaneta, District Hamirpur, H.P.
in the year 2019, the services of the petitioner were not taken over
by the Government. However, it is also a matter of record that during
the pendency of this petition, her services have been taken over by
the Government.
7. Now incidentally, no fresh development has taken place
as from the date of merger of the College or as from the date of the
filing of the Writ petition till the services of the petitioner were taken
over, so as to justify the subsequent taking over of the services of the
petitioner by the Government. In other words, the fact situation was
the same on 30.08.2022, as it was on the date of merger of the
College with Government College Dhaneta, or when Notification
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dated 31.07.2019 (Annexure P-17) was issued. This demonstrates
that the non-taking over of the services of the petitioner by the
.
Government was completely arbitrary as there is no justification
thereof even in the reply. There is a passing on reference in the reply
that the services of those incumbents who were not fulfilling the
eligibility criteria as per the Recruitment & Promotion Rules on the
date of initial appointment were not taken over, but it has not been
mentioned therein that the services of the petitioner were not taken
over for the same reason. In other words, it is not the stand of the
respondents in the reply that at the time of the initial engagement of
the petitioner in the erstwhile General Zorawar Singh College
Dhaneta, District Hamirpur, H.P. with Government College Dhaneta,
District Hamirpur, H.P. she was not fulfilling the criteria to be
appointed against the post in issue.
8. In the light of above observations, this Writ petition is
allowed and the respondents are directed to take over the services of
the petitioner as a Junior Office Assistant (Library), w.e.f.
31.07.2019, i.e. the date when the services of other staff of the
College were taken over by the Government. The taking over shall be
with all consequential benefits including seniority, however, the
monetary benefits will be notional only and actual benefits shall
accrue from the date of filing of the Writ petition. The arrears of
monetary benefits, be paid within a period of two months, failing
which, the same shall entail interest @ of 6% from the date of filing
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of the petition.
9. The petition stands disposed of. Pending miscellaneous
.
application(s), if any also stand disposed of accordingly.
(Ajay Mohan Goel)
Judge
August 30, 2024
(Rishi)
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