Petitioner have no right to hold the post of the Controller of Drugs : DB
JKUT (Srinagar), July-31-2021-( JNF):- Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul while upholding the judgment of writ Court observed that Nazir Ahmad Wani having no right to hold the post of the Controller of Drugs, if have been disallowed to function on it.
Division Bench is of the opinion that no illegality has been committed and at the same time, there is no flaw in the impugned judgment which may permit us to intervene in the matter.
DB further said that the appeal, as such, lacks merit and is dismissed clarifying that none of the observations made hereinabove in this judgment would come in the way of either of the parties in getting their inter-se seniority determined in any other forum or in any litigation that may be pending between them.
Division Bench after hearing both the sides observed that in the absence of any material on record to establish that substantive appointments were ever made on the post of Deputy Controller Drugs under the Rules, none is eligible and qualified for promotion on the solitary post of Controller of Drugs as has been conclusively held in the previous round of litigation. Since the said post is to be filled up by promotion only from amongst the Deputy Controller Drugs irrespective of the fact that it may be a selection post and not strictly dependent upon seniority nonetheless in the peculiar facts and circumstances and as directed by the previous judgment and order dated 13.05.2015 passed in LPA Nos. 11/2015 and 01/2015 it is but necessary to mitigate the hardship, to allow the said post to be held up as a stop gap arrangement from the senior most Deputy Controller Drugs or Asstt. Controller of Drugs till substantive appointment by promotion is made on the said post.
DB after hearing both the sides observed that whether the decision taken by the respondents to promote Nazir Ahmad Wani on temporary basis as Controller of Drugs could have been validly rescinded. In this connection it may be noted that Nazir Ahmad Wani cannot be recognized as the senior most person in the department as Mrs. Lotika Khajuria is exfacie senior to him. Both of them were appointed on the same day as Assistant Controller Drugs by direct recruitment and the name of Mrs. Lotika Khajuria appeared as the only name after selection in merit list for appointment whereas Nazir Ahmad Wani was in the waiting list. Therefore, even if both of them were selected simultaneously and have joined on the same day, Mrs. Lotika Khajuria would be treated above Nazir Ahmad Wani. Secondly, Nazir Ahmad Wani is not eligible for appointment on the post of Controller as he had not worked as Deputy Controller of Drugs in substantive capacity for seven years. He was never promoted permanently to hold the post of Dy. Controller of Drugs. Under Rule 5 read with Schedule II, the post of Controller of Drugs is required to be filled up by promotion through selection from Deputy Controller Drugs and Food having a minimum of seven years of service as such. Nazir Ahmad Wani is not having seven years of service as Deputy Controller Drugs and Food in substantive capacity and as such, is not eligible. This apart, Nazir Ahmad Wani, was simply allowed to function as Controller of Drugs without facing any selection or promotional procedure as a stop gap arrangement.
DB observed that in this way, no rights accrued to him to continue on the said post. Therefore, if the order allowing him to function as Controller of Drugs has been rescinded, it has not infringed upon any of his substantive rights which may entail any interference in the matter. Moreover, where a power is conferred upon the authorities to do an act, they have inherent power to undo the same if the power is subsequently found to have been exercised in a palpably wrong manner. Nazir Ahmad Wani was allowed to function as Controller of Drugs in complete violation of the Rules and seniority and, as such, no illegality had been committed in rescinding the order dated 22.03.2018 by which he was allowed to function as Controller of Drugs. The order impugned in the writ petition i.e., the order of revocation in no way cast any stigma upon the service of Nazir Ahmad Wani, and therefore, he cannot be recognized as a person who may be prejudiced by said order in any manner. It has to be remembered that promotion is an incident of service but no one can claim it as a matter of right. It is only the qualified and eligible person who has a right to be considered for promotion. It is trite to clarify that eligibility for the post may at time is misconstrued to mean qualification. DB said that the State of Gujarat & Others vclarifies that eligibility connotes the minimum criteria for selection, that may be laid down by the executive/ legislature by way of any Statute or Rules, while the term qualification, may connote any additional norms laid down by the authorities. JNF