W.P. (C) No. 328 of 2014. Case: Khumanthem Dilip Singh Vs The Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) and Ors.. Manipur High Court
| Case Number | W.P. (C) No. 328 of 2014 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: Kh. Tarunkumar, Advocate and For Respondents: R.K. Umakanta, Addl. G.A., S. Nepolean, Govt. Advocate and N. Bipin, Advocate |
| Judges | Kh. Nobin Singh, J. |
| Issue | Constitution of India - Article 14; Right to Information Act, 2005 - Section 6(1) |
| Judgement Date | February 14, 2017 |
| Court | Manipur High Court |
Judgment:
Kh. Nobin Singh, J.
1. Heard Shri Kh. Tarunkumar, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner; Shri R.K. Umakanta, the learned Addl. Government Advocate appearing for the MPSC, Shri S. Nepolean, the learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondent No. 2 and Shri N. Bipin, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent No. 3.
2. By the instant writ petition, the petitioner has questioned the legality and correctness of the proceedings of the DPC meeting held on 28-12-2013 and prays for quashing the impugned order dated 01-02-2014 issued by the Deputy Secretary to the State Government.
3.1 According to the petitioner, he was initially appointed to the post of Geologist on regular basis on the recommendation of the Manipur Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the MPSC") vide order dated 24-05-1986 issued by the Under Secretary (Industries), Govt. of Manipur. On 23-11-2012, the Principal Secretary (Com. & Ind.), Govt. of Manipur issued a notification publishing the Final Seniority List of Geologist wherein the name of the petitioner appeared at Sl. No. 1 and that of the private respondent at Sl. No. 2.
3.2 On 15-09-1979, the Under Secretary (DP), Govt. of Manipur had issued a notification notifying the Recruitment Rules for the post of Joint Director of Industries (Geology) and as per the said Recruitment Rules, the post of Joint Director is a Class-I (Gazetted) Selection Post. On 27-12-2013, the Deputy Secretary (Com. & Ind.), Government of Manipur issued a notification stating that a meeting of a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) would be held on 28-12-2013 in the office chamber of the Hon'ble Member, MPSC to consider the eligible persons for appointment on promotion to the post of Joint Director (G & M) in the Department of Commerce & Industries, Manipur. Being suspicious of some foul play in the proceedings of the DPC, the petitioner filed an application under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 seeking information as regards (i) Name of the eligible persons considered by the DPC on 28-12-2013; (ii) Copies of Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of five years of every candidate considered by the DPC; (iii) Copy of the proceedings of the DPC held on 28-12-2013 and (iv) Provisions of law empowering the member of the MPSC to chair the DPC of a Class-I Gazetted post in the absence of the Chairman of the MPSC.
3.3 On the recommendation of the said DPC, the Deputy Secretary (Com. & Ind.), Government of Manipur issued an order dated 01-02-2014 whereby the private respondent was appointed on promotion to the post of the Joint Director of Industries (G & M) in the Department of Commerce & Industries, Manipur. After the private respondent having been appointed, the Additional Secretary, MPSC furnished a copy of the proceedings of the DPC meeting held on 14-02-2014 and in respect of the ACRs, the Deputy Secretary (Com. & Ind.), Manipur informed the Director (Com. & Ind.) on 13-03-2014 that copies of the ACRs need not be furnished to the petitioner. As the concerned authorities failed to furnish the information as regards the grading of the ACRs from the official respondents and being aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the respondents, the present writ petition has been filed by the petitioner.
4. The stand of the MPSC as indicated in its affidavit, is that there was no irregularity on the part of the DPC...
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