Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Sep 21: On Monday September 20, the High Court (HC) bench, which has been hearing the writ petition filed in the recruit scam in Hassan and Mysore medical colleges by dismissed employees, asked the state government to consider issuance of notices to those who have lost their jobs because of the cancellation of their recruitment process. Justice Ram Mohan Reddy, presiding officer of the bench, gave this suggestion during the course of hearing.

“There is no need to hasten the process of dismissal. You can come to a conclusion in two weeks. If the government is of the opinion that it does not have powers to decide the fate of the employees at this juncture, the court will pass orders in this respect on Wednesday,” Justice Reddy said, before adjourning the hearing.

The judge felt that the step taken to cancel the appointments of all the employees at one go, without serving notices and providing them an opportunity to explain, was unjustified. “Why cannot fresh notices be served on them now, and why don’t you reassess the appointment process afresh?” he questioned. While observing that those involved in irregularities cannot be spared, he said that the court will take its course and issue directions, if the government finds that it does not have power to reopen these cases.

Observing that the recruitments committee formed by the governing councils of the medical colleges, which were vested with absolute powers, had made these appointments, the bench questioned the propriety of the government’s interference in the administrative matters of the councils concerned. “Does the government have the power to dismiss the governing councils, and can it exercise duel powers?” it wanted to know.

The additional advocate general will now be placing his arguments concerning the jurisdiction of the state government”s powers, on Wednesday. During the hearing on Monday, the government again stuck to its stand that it had done the right thing by cancelling the appointments. The advocate general said that the government could not remove the hard disks from the computers and cull the information and data stored therein.

Advocates for petitioners, however, argued that no irregularities had occurred in the appointments and that no rules had violated in the selection process.