ORDER
1. The first respondent/The Coimbatore Division Rural Co-operative Housing Society Limited, SLM-HSG No. 30, Avinashi 638654, Coimbatore District was without a Secretary right from its inception and consequently the work of the said society was stated to have suffered to a great extent possible. Therefore, the first respondent wanted the post of Secretary to be filled up by appointment of a proper and fit person. Nominations of persons having requisite qualifications were called for through the Employment Exchange and out of the persons so sponsored, the petitioner K. M. Duraiswamy, having the requisite qualifications was found fit to man the position and he was appointed by a resolution dated 14.2.1982, although he was above 30 years at that time and in order to relax the age qualifications it was also decided to address the Registrar to have the appointment regularised relaxing the qualifications as regards age. The petitioner was accordingly appointed.
2. While so functioning his service were all of a sudden by order dated 13th August, 1984 of the Special Officer of the Society, terminated on the ground that on the date of appointment he was above 30 years as his date of birth was 1st April, 1947. It is contrary to bye-law No. 5 of the Special Bye-laws relating to service conditions of the Employees of the Rural Co-operative Housing Society Limited.
3. aggrieved by the said order the petitioner resorted to the present action on 16th August, 1984 praying for issue of a certiorari to quash the said order.
4. He also filed W.M.P. No. 13275 of 1984 praying for interim relief and on the said petition this Court on 21st August, 1984 passed the following order :
“Interim stay & Notice.”
Subsequently, on 3rd April, 1987 the interim stay granted already was made absolute.
5. The present position is that he had been functioning continuously without any sort of interruption for any period whatever as the Secretary of the first respondent society.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner would contend that the termination of the services of the petitioner, all of a sudden, without giving him any opportunity therefore must be construed to be an act done violating the principles of natural justice in the sense of not giving adequacy of opportunity to the person against whom an adverse order is passed.
7. There is no pale of controversy that before ever the petitioner was terminated from service, he was not given any notice to show-cause as to why his services should not be terminated, on the ground of his appointment having been irregular. Such a non-giving of an opportunity is definitely band in law, as rightly contended by learned counsel for the petitioner. On the face of an opportunity not having been given to the petitioner, before ever his services were terminated, learned counsel appearing for the first respondent cannot at all be expected to put forth a submission, tenable and acceptable to the Court in opposition to the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner. The order of termination passed, as such, suffers from the vice of non-observation of the principles of natural Justice and therefore, such an order cannot at all be sustained and is accordingly quashed.
8. It is next contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that ever since the appointment in the year 1979 he had been continuously in service till up today and if he is sent out of office, at this distance of time, there is no possibility of his getting employment elsewhere and in such state of affairs, it is but proper for the Court to issue a direction to the first respondent-Society to have his service regularised by amending the bye-law relating to the age qualifications in accordance with circular instructions issued by the Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Coimbatore in his proceedings 19024/84 dated November 12, 1984. Paragraph 3 of the said circular instructions provides that in case any employee of the society had been appointed without reference to the age qualification as prescribed in the Special bye-laws, the services of such employee may be regularised by suitably amending the bye-laws, provided the services of such employee were satisfactory.
9. In the case on hand nothing emerges from the records produced for perusal before me, pointing out that the services of the petitioner were not satisfactory. It has to be recapitulated that even at the time of his appointment, the Special Resolution passed by the Society points out in a clinching fashion, that he was only the competent person having the requisite qualification fit enough to be appointed as the Secretary of the Society. Taking into consideration his continuous service ever since his appointment in the year 1979 and also the fact that no bad remarks seem to have been recorded in his career all along, it is but fit and proper that his services are regularised by properly amending the by law relaxing the age qualification and a direction is issued therefore to all concerned.
10. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly. There will however, be no order as to costs.
