Officials working in government authorities are not aware of the law…Court’s comment regarding appointment as dependent of the deceased.

-Court’s comment regarding appointment as dependent of the deceased

Prayagraj. The Allahabad High Court has said in an order that officers working in government authorities are not aware of the law. Due to this, the courts get flooded with unnecessary cases and their roster gets blocked. The Court said that such negligence is not only a waste of the court’s time but also forces common citizens to undergo unnecessary litigation.

Justice Manju Rani Chauhan made this comment in a case in which an uneducated petitioner had approached the High Court challenging his own contractual compassionate appointment. The Court said that it has been experienced that in many cases the responsible government officials not only ignore the statutory provisions but also act contrary to the established position of law. The direct result of this is that such cases reach the courts and there is unnecessary pressure on the judicial system.

According to the case, the petitioner’s father had died during service. After this, his mother wrote a letter to the concerned authority requesting them to provide compassionate appointment to her son when he attains majority.

In the year 2007, the petitioner was appointed to the post of conductor in Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation under the deceased dependent quota. This appointment was of contractual nature. The petitioner was not aware of the nature of his appointment and the law related to it. For this reason, he challenged his contractual appointment after serving for many years and cited some previous decisions of the Allahabad High Court in support of this.

At the same time, it was argued on behalf of the corporation that the petitioner cannot challenge his appointment after working for such a long time. Commenting on this, the High Court said that the State and its undertakings are expected to act with impartiality and reasonableness under Article 14 of the Constitution. Especially when they have to fulfill their responsibilities towards people who are not familiar with the intricacies of law and procedure. The Court also referred to the observation of the Supreme Court in the case of Urban Improvement Trust Bikaner vs. Mohan Lal, which said that the State should endeavor to end unnecessary litigation, as it leads to backlog of cases in the courts and hinders speedy justice.

The court said that when the corporation itself was aware of the legal position, it was its responsibility not to give such appointment to the petitioner. The petitioner should not suffer the consequences of the negligence of the corporation. The court directed the corporation to reconsider the matter and take necessary steps as per law.