JUDGMENT
R.C. Gandhi, J.
1. Petitioner has been appointed as Junior Engineer Grade-II in Mechanical Engineering Department on ad hoc basis for a period of 89 days vide Govt. Order No. 901-GAD of 2001 dated 7.8.2001. Appointment of the petitioner has been continued by another 89 days vide Government Order No. 302 of 2002 dated 13.2.2002. Vide Govt. Order No. 130/GAD of 2002 dated 2.8.2002, petitioner was again appointed for 89 days. The ad hoc has no right to seek continuation or regularization as the appointment is required to be considered in terms of Rule 4 of J&K Classification, Control and Appeal Rules, 1956.
2. Dealing with this proposition of law, this Court has in a batch of writ petition decided on 10.10.2002 held as under:-
“Public employment is a national wealth and all eligible citizens are equally entitled to share it. They are entitled to seek consideration to such public employment as and when offer is made by notification by the State. It cannot be permitted to be monopolized or distributed by back-door entry. Every citizen of the State is entitled to share this wealth of the State, of course, on the basis of eligibility, merit and suitability, to be determined by a selection process conducted in accordance with the settled principles of law. In case public employment is not offered to the eligible citizens of the State, it shall amount to denial of the share of the public property, which generates the source of livelihood to the deserving citizens and inculcates a sense of administration and governance of the affairs of the State.
3. The State has framed the Rules for selection of suitable candidates on the basis of merit, efficiency and other relevant considerations for appointment to public posts. The Committees/Boards constituted for the purpose comprise of persons having specialization to selection suitable candidates in different fields of the Administration. A public post is required to be filled up by suitable candidate on the recommendation of the Service Selection Board or the Selection Committees which are in existence. However, some times the employer feels the necessity of making a vacant post functional in public interest in a situation where the post cannot be filled up substantively due to certain reasons. To meet such an exigency Rule 14 has been incorporated in the Jammu and Kashmir Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1956 (hereinafter for short CCA Rules, 1956) which is quoted below:-
“14. Temporary appointments:–Where it is necessary in the public interest owing to an emergency which has arisen and could not have been foreseen, to fill immediately a vacancy in a post borne on the cadre of service, class or category and the making of an appointment to such vacancy in accordance with these rules would involve undue delay, excessive expenditure or administrative inconveniences, the appointing authority may appoint a person otherwise than in accordance with these rules temporarily with the prior approval of the Chief Minister in Co-ordination until a person is appointed in accordance with these rules but such temporary appointment shall in no case exceed three months on each occasion and not more than nine months in all.”
4. This provision of law envisages unforeseen emergency or other reasons contained therein for filing up the post on ad-hoc basis for a period of three months initially which can be extended and the total period of such ad-hoc appointment cannot exceed nine months. Secondly, such appointment has to be made with prior approval of the Chief Minister in Co-ordination until a person is appointed in accordance with the rules against the post. It is also axiomatic from the rule that the factors, emergency, unforeseen exigency, undue delay that may be caused if the vacancy is filled up in accordance with the rules, excessive expenditure or the administrative inconveniences, envisaged by Rule 14 as quoted hereinabove, cannot subsist beyond the period of nine months. In other words, the concerned authority/authorities is enjoined upon to refer the post to the concerned Selection Board as soon as possible so that the process of selection and filling up of the post in accordance with the rules governing the subject-matter is completed by end of the period of nine months. The words “until a person is appointed in accordance with these rules but such temporary appointment shall in no case exceed three months on each occasion and not more than nine months in all connotes that steps for filling up the post on substantive basis have to be taken a simultaneous with the making of an ad-hoc arrangement and sleep over the matter of reference of the post to the concerned Selection Board for filling up the post. The factors except the public interest, which entitle appointing authority to make ad-hoc appointment cannot be allowed to continue to subsist for indefinite period of time. The rule clearly places a rider on continuation of such ad-hoc appointment beyond nine months.
5. Perusal of the pleadings reveals that none of the petitioners has been appointed in compliance with the mandate of Rule 14 of the CCA Rules. The appointing authorities, and, in some cases the officers who are not empowered to make such appoints, have made these appointments de hors Rule 14 of the CCA Rules.
The case of the petitioner is covered by the aforesaid judgment. The petitioner is not found entitled to the relief prayed for, the aforesaid reasons. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed.