Dismissed

Shoket M Chowdry v. Union Territory of J and K Th Additional Chief Secretary Haelth and Medical Edu Deptt and Others

J&K HC2 Feb 2022WP(C)/147/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging a Central Administrative Tribunal order that refused interim stay on faculty selection. The court held the petitioner, under suspension and missing deadlines without prior prayer, was not entitled to interim protection.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition dismissed; Tribunal directed to decide the original application expeditiously without unnecessary adjournments.

Shoket M Chowdry Vs Union Territory of J and K Th… — Service and Employment | J&K HC (2022)

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Sr. No. 27

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HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR ANDLADAKH AT JAMMU

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(THROUGH VIRTUAL MODE)

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CJ Court

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Case: WP(C) No. 147 of 2022

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Shoket M. Chowdry

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.....Appellant/Petitioner(s)

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Through :- Sh. Z A Shah, Senior Advocate.

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v/s

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Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and others

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.....Respondent(s)

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Through :- Sh. Amit Gupta, AAG for respondent nos. 1 and 2 Mr. F A Natnoo, AAG for Respondent no.3.

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CORAM:

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HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON’BLEMRS. JUSTICE SINDHU SHARMA, JUDGE

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ORDER

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The petitioner alleges that he is Assistant Professor and Head of Department of Gastroenterology in Super Specialty Hospital of Government Medical College Jammu. He has filed this petition invoking the discretionary jurisdiction of this Court aggrieved by the non-grant of interim order to him in his original application by the Central Administrative Tribunal (for short ‘ the Tribunal’ ) Jammu.

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It appears that by an advertisement dated 20.12.2021, Government Medical College, Jammu invited online applications for the post of Assistant Professors, Associate Professors and Professors in the various departments of the Super Specialty Hospital at Jammu, inter alia including the department of Medical Gastroenterology.

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WP(C) No. 147 of 2022

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The petitioner somehow could not apply and as such, preferred original application No. 19/2022 before the Tribunal for the quashing of the above advertisement and for the stay of the selection insofar as it pertains to the post of Medical Gastroenterology

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The relief and the interim order sought in the original application therein are reproduced herein below;

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“8. Relief sought:

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In view of the facts mentioned in para 4 above and ground in Para 5 above and those to be urged at the time of hearing the applicant prays before the Hon’ble Tribunal for the following relief(s):-

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(i) Quashing/Set aside the advertisement Notice issued by respondent no.2 vide endorsement No:GMC/Estt/GD/1091 dated 20.12.2021 for one time absorption by way of Lateral Entry of Faculty members of Government Medical College, Jammu in Super Specialty Hospital, Jammu so far as to the extent it pertains to posts at S. No. 4 pertaining to Medical Gastroenterology Department.

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(ii) Any other relief to which this Tribunal deems fit and proper the facts and circumstances of the case may also be passed in favour of the applicant

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9. Interim order, if any prayed for:

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Pending final decision on the application, the applicant seeks the following interim relief:

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(i) Advertisement Notice issued by respondent no.2 vide endorsement No:-GMC/Estt/GD/1091 dated 20.12.2021 for one time absorption by way of Lateral Entry of Faculty members of Government Medical College, Jammu in Super Specialty Hospital, Jammu so far as the extent it pertains to posts at S. No. 4 pertaining to Medical Gastroenterology Department be stayed.

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3 WP(C) No. 147 of 2022

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(ii) Any other relief to which this Tribunal deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case may also be passed in favour of the applications.”

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The Tribunal by the impugned order dated 10.01.2022 entertained the original application and fixed it for 28.02.2022 for orders giving time to the respondents to file response but has refused to grant exparte interim relief in view of the fact that the petitioner is under suspension since 2017 and is absent from duty from 2018 and, as such may not be entitled to the No objection Certificate (NOC) from the Principal so as to apply for the said post.

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Sh. Z. A. Shah, senior counsel submits that in the facts and circumstances of the case, the petitioner was atleast entitled to some interim protection either by way of stay to the selection or by permitting him to participate in the selection. He further submits that he has no difficulty in getting the matter considered by the Tribunal on 28.02.2022 as fixed but in the meantime, the selection process on the post of department of Medical Gastroenterology may not be finalized.

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The writ petition is directed against the interlocutory order and reading of the said order reveals that the application of the petitioner for interim relief has not yet been rejected and may be considered on the next date after the respondents have filed their response. Therefore, it is not a case of miscarriage of justice which may warrant exercise of the discretionary jurisdiction. Moreover, the petitioner in the original application has prayed for the quashing of the advertisement and for its stay or selection in pursuance thereof. He had not made any prayer directing the respondents to allow him to participate in the selection or to give NOC to him so that he may apply and, as such, the Tribunal

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4 WP(C) No. 147 of 2022

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could not have issued any direction to allow him to participate in the selection even provisionally that too without NOC.

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A perusal of the advertisement clearly reveals that the NOC from the Principal, Government Medical College, Jammu, in respect of the faculty members seeking absorption by lateral entry in the Super Specialty Hospital, Jammu, is one of the pre-condition for applying. Applications were to be submitted latest by 4 pm on 10.01.2022.

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Admittedly, the petitioner is not having any NOC from the Principal, Government Medical College, Jammu, and has not applied for participation in the selection process within the time prescribed. There is no material on record which could indicate that the petitioner has approached the Principal Government Medical College, Jammu, for NOC or he has made any effort to submit the application within the stipulated time.

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The Tribunal could not have stayed the entire advertisement or the selection or even selection on the post of the department of Medical Gastroenterology as it would have gone against the public interest at large, more particularly, when the petitioner was under suspension and was not attending the duties and getting salary since 2018.

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Since the period of submitting the application has already expired, the Court cannot extend the time for submitting the application by an interim order so as to protect the interests of the petitioner by permitting him to participate in the selection process, moreso, when no such prayer was made by him in the original application.

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The petitioner would be entitled to desired relief as claimed in the original application only if the Tribunal comes to the conclusion that the advertisement is illegal.

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5 WP(C) No. 147 of 2022

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In view of the facts and circumstances, we are of the opinion that there is no merit in the submission of Sh. Z. A. Shah, senior counsel that the petitioner is entitled to some interim protection.

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The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed, however, with a direction that the Tribunal would proceed to decide the original application as a whole most expeditiously and the interim application, if necessary on the next date fixed ensuring that no unnecessary adjournment is sought by any of the parties. It is provided that the respondents would not get the matter adjourned unnecessarily and would cooperate with the hearing of the matter as whole atleast with the interim application.

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(SINDHU SHARMA) (PANKAJ MITHAL) JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE JAMMU 02.02.2022 SUNITA.

Shoket M Chowdry v. Union Territory of J and K Th Additional Chief Secretary Haelth and Medical Edu Deptt and Others

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Shoket M Chowdry v. Union Territory of J and K Th Additional Chief Secretary Haelth and Medical Edu Deptt and Others

Case brief

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What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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