IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
C.O.C.P. No. 2079 of 2008
Date of Decision : February 18, 2009
Rajpal Singh
....Petitioner
Versus
P.S. Aujla and another
.....Respondents
CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE T.P.S. MANN
Present : Mr. Baltej Singh Sidhu, Advocate
for the petitioner.
Mr. M.C. Berry, Additional Advocate General, Punjab
for the respondents.
T.P.S. MANN, J. (Oral)
On October 16, 2008, while taking up C.W.P. No. 17904 of 2008 filed
by the petitioner and others for challenging the order dated 10.10.2008 whereby they
were sought to be reverted as Assistant Engineers from the post of Sub Divisional
Engineers of which they had been given additional charge earlier, the Division
Bench issued notice of motion for November 04, 2008 and, in the meanwhile,
ordered for maintaining status quo regarding charge of the post held by them.
According to the petitioner, he was on leave from October 10, 2008
(A.N.) to 19.10.2008 but during the leave period, he was compelled by respondent
No. 2 to relinquish the additional charge in favour of one Malkiat Singh, S.D.O.,
who was transferred from Zira against the post being held by the petitioner uptil
then. The petitioner even showed copy of the order passed on October 16, 2008 to
respondent No. 2 but he paid scant respect to the same. The petitioner was left with
no other alternative except to leave the additional charge under compulsion. The
petitioner also brought the factual position to the notice of respondent No. 1 vide
representation dated November 05, 2008 but inspite of the same, the additional
C.O.C.P. No. 2079 of 2008 -2-
charge of Sub Divisional Engineer has not been given to him. As the respondents
intentionally and willfully disobeyed the order of the Court, they have made
themselves liable to be punished under the Contempt of Courts Act.
Replies have been filed by the respondents. Their stand is that the writ
petition filed by the petitioner and others, besides two other identical writ petitions,
has been disposed of on January 09, 2009 with the directions that the available posts
of Sub Divisional Engineers belonging to the direct recruitment quota be filled up
for the exigencies of the work from the feeding channels on the basis of seniority
and in proportion to their respective quotas. Such temporary arrangement had to be
made for the smooth functioning of the administration of the Department and in
public interest. The State has been directed to fill up the posts by direct recruitment
by initiating proper process of selection. The process of selection was to start
within two months from the date of the order, i.e. January 09, 2009 and to be
completed and brought to its logical end by recruitment within a period of six
months. On completion of eight months period, the interim arrangement would
automatically stand determined. According to the respondents, steps are now being
taken to implement the order dated January 09, 2009.
In view of the stand taken by the respondents that direct recruitments
would be made to fill up the posts of Sub Divisional Engineers and in the meantime,
temporary arrangements to be made to fill up those posts from the feeding channels
in accordance with the final decision of the High Court delivered on January 09,
2009 in the writ petition filed by the petitioner and others, no case is made out to
proceed with the present contempt petition, which is, therefore, dismissed. Rule is
discharged.
( T.P.S. MANN )
February 18, 2009 JUDGE
satish