Appointments made without the prior approval of the State Government, as required by Section 35 of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976, are illegal and do not confer any right to salary or other reliefs on the appointees.

R.M.Prasad, J.

1. All the three writ applications have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment/ order as the questions involved are identical as also the facts are; more or less, similar.

2. In the said writ applications the grievance of the petitioners is, that their salary with effect from August, 1991October, 1991 hat been withheld by the respondents without any valid reason and-thus the action; at the respondents in this regard is wholly unjustified. C. W. J. C. No. 873 of 1992 (R), a further prayer has been made for quashing of the; order dated 18-10-1991 issued by the Registrar, Ranchi University (respondent No. 3) whereby he has issued direction to the Principal of Markham Commerce College, Hazaribagh not to make payment to such teaching and non-teaching staff whose names do not figure in the list approved by the Government and the consequential order of the Principal, as contained in Annexure 6; stopping the payment of salary of the petitioners of the said case. In C. W. J, C. No. 837 of 1992 (K), the petitioners have also prayed for quashing of the orders dated 3-1-1992, 18-1-1962 and 20-11-1992, as contained in Annexures 6, 5 and 8, respectively, issued by the University whereby the salary of the petitioners has been withheld from the month of October, 1991.

3. Later an amendment petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioners of the first two writ applications for quashing of the order of the University dated 23rd July, 1992, annexed as Annexure 9 to both the writ applications, whereby the Principals of all the newly converted constituent Colleges under the University have been directed by the University to terminate the services of all such persons (both teaching and non-teaching) whose names do not appear in the approved list sent by the State Government in the HRD Department.

4. In short, the case of the petitioners in the first two cases is that they were appointed as Class III and Class IV employees in different posts, such as, Clerk, Laboratory Incharge Laboratory Assistant Peons etc. on different dates between 1983 and 1985 in the aforesaid Markham Commerce College by the Governing Body and, accordingly, the petitioners joined their respective posts in the aforesaid Colleges. It is also stated by the petitioners of the first two writ applications that their appointments were made by the Governing body of aforesaid Markham Commerce College and .their services were confirmed by the Governing Body.

5. The case of the petitioners of C. W. J. C. No. 837 of 1992 (R) is that prior to 1976 the Governing Body of B. S. K. College sanctioned the posts for the College in its meeting dated 26-9-76 and created 21 posts in class III and 20 posts in Class IV and sought the approval of the University. It is also stated that their appointments were made after due advertisement and Interview, by; a selection committee which prepared a panel of selected candidates in which the names of the petitioners were included and the same was also approved by the University, whereafter they were appointed.

6. The said Colleges were taken over as constituent Colleges of the Ranchi University with effect from 31-10-1986. The petitioners claimed that after the take over of the College, the University sent the names of the employees, both teaching and non-teaching, of the said Colleges to the State Government for approval. The State Government (respondent No, 5 in C. W. J. C. No. 873 of 1992 (R) on 12th February, 1990 had issued circular which has been annexed as Annexure 3 in C. W. J. C. No. 873 of 1992 (R) to all the Universities in the State of Bihar, including the Ranchi University, in which the names of the approved employees of different newly constituent Colleges duly recommended by the University were also sent inviting objections. In the said circular, however, it was mentioned that if certain names ate omitted to be included in the provisional list and they are getting their salary from the