JUDGMENT :

K. Ramaswamy, J. :- Leave granted.

2. This bunch of appeals pertains to 1363 employees, viz., Clerks (Class III) and Attendants (Class IV). All the cases arise from judgments of Division Bench of the Patna High Court dated May 6, 1994 in C.W.J.C. No. 5163/93 and batch. The principal villain behind the scene is one Dr. A. A. Mallick, Deputy Director, Health Department of the Government of Bihar, in charge of Tuberculosis. He was Director of the Tuberculosis Centre at Patna. Eradication of Tuberculosis was taken up as a part of 20-Point Programme in Planned Expenditure. The activities in the Tuberculosis Centre at Patna were extended to various districts. Since Mallick happened to be the Director of the Centre, he was made Deputy Director of the Scheme. The Government had also issued directions to the District Medical Officers to abide by the instructions of Mallick in implementation of the programme. He was made the Chairman of the Selection Committee constituted by the Government consisting of himself, Assistant Director of Filaria and the senior officer representing Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes to recruit 2250 posts of Class III and Class IV employees created to implement the Scheme in addition to around 800 to 900 staff in Patna Centre in all categories. Taking advantage thereof, the undisputed fact is that, he had appointed around 6000 (as found by the Committee) while the Government asserts them to be approximately 7000. Be that as it may, not less than 6000 persons were appointed by Mallick without any written orders. He directed many of them to be adjusted by transfer by District Medical Officers and some of them had produced fabricated appointment orders. He shuffled their payment of salaries like musical chairs by turns. Another device adopted in the sordid episode was to make the employees go on strike and when some sensitive M.L.As. raised the question, on the floor of the State Legislative Assembly, of illegal appointments made by Mallick, the Government initially swallowed the appointments to be legal and had justified his action to be valid. Later, when facts themselves proved their faulty admission, they made amends before the Assembly and the Government made an elaborate statement apprising the House that the information furnished earlier was not correct.

3. Due to the agitation, the Director and Joint Secretary to the Government, Health Department had issued directions to regularise the services of daily rated Class III and Class IV employees. Taking aid thereof, it is claimed that regularisation of many of them including most of the appellants, was made. When alarming bells rang around portals of Patna High Court, filing petition under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking payment of salaries, the High Court, though initially in some cases directed to enquire into the cases and to pay salaries, later found it difficult to cope up with the situation. So it directed the Government to constitute an enquiry committee to find out whether the appointments made by Mallick were valid and if so, to pay salary to such employees.

4. In the meanwhile, the Government also directed the Vigilance Department to enquire into the matter and on May 7, 1991, the Vigilance Department in its report pointed out that Mallick had violated the rules of recruitment and in collusion with other officers had appointed daily-rated Class III and Class IV employees. Pursuant to the direction of the High Court, a Screening Committee was constituted which sought to serve notice on the employees. When the Deputy Director went to the Centre at Patna to serve the notice on the employees, he was man-handled resulting in an ugly law and order situation. In consequence, notices were published on two different dates in different newspapers inviting submission of the claims by all the employees appointed by Mallick, together with supporting material justifying their appointments. Different dates of hearing by the Committee were staggered.