Termination of service of UP Jal Nigam employees
BY Justice Markandey Katju
1300 UP Jal Nigam employees, including Asst Engineers, have been sacked following an investigation which allegedly found irregularities in their selection during the Samajwadi Party Govt.
UP Government Sacks 1,300 Jal Nigam Employees: Report
However, it is not clear what were these irregularities? These should be stated clearly by the govt.
If the irregularities were major, e.g. not advertising the posts, or corruption in the selection, or violation of some rule, then of course termination of service would be valid on the principle ” you came in by the back door, now you must go out by the same door ”.
Unfortunately what has been witnessed for some decades is that Ministers ( of all parties ) and senior bureaucrats put pressure on the selectors to select their men, who are often their relatives or caste members. There are also several reports of bribes being given for getting appointments.
I remember that when I was a Judge in Allahabad High Court there was a senior Judge in the Court who had come on transfer from Patna High Court. That Judge was Administrative Judge of a big district in western UP, Ghaziabad, and in Ghaziabad District Court there were about 25 vacancies of clerks, which had to be filled in by a written selection under the relevant rules.
The Administrative Judge ( my colleague in the High Court ) sent a list of 25 persons of Bihar whom he knew to the District Judge of Ghaziabad and told the latter that these 25 must be selected and appointed. The District Judge, who was known to be a very upright person, refused, and he protested that this would be against the rules, which required a selection. If it was predecided whom to appoint the selection would be a farce.
This so infuriated the Administrative Judge that he gave the District Judge an adverse entry making all kinds of false statements against him. The result was that the District Judge, who was on the verge of being elevated as a High Court Judge, was never elevated, and he retired as a District Judge.
Justice Markandey Katju’s FB post with courtesy.
