The State Government lacks jurisdiction to cancel a university's regularization notification, which violates principles of equality and the Bihar State Litigation Policy.

JUDGMENT :

Anil Kumar Sinha, J.

1. All these writ petitions have been filed by the similarly situated employees, whose services were regularized for a direction to the respondent authorities to make payment of arrears of salary in terms of the notification dated 26.12.2009 by which the services of the petitioners and similarly situated persons were regularized from the date of their initial appointment.

2. In CWJC No. 6316 of 2015 there are twenty six petitioners of Class III & Class IV. In CWJC No. 12124 of 2015 one petitioner is there and in CWJC No. 6444 of 2015 there are fourteen petitioners.

3. The petitioners have further prayed for quashing the order dated 29.01.2019 contained in letter no. 201 issued by the Department of Education, Government of Bihar, by which the notification of the University dated 26.12.2009 has been cancelled.

4. Brief facts giving rise to the present writ application is that petitioners and similarly situated persons were appointed as Daily Wage Employees against different Class III & Class IV non-teaching posts in different Colleges of the University upon which they continued to discharge their function satisfactorily. In the light of various orders passed by this Court and on the basis of decision taken by syndicate of the University, services of altogether 199 persons including the petitioners of the present batch of writ petitions were provisionally regularized against different Class III & Class IV posts subject to approval of the State Government vide notification dated 06.06.2004 issued by the Registrar of the L.N. Mithila University, Darbhang (for short the ‘University’). Thereafter, the State Government delayed in taking decision in the matter by raising objections in one way or the other following which a MJC came to be filed before this Court bearing MJC No. 734 of 2001 and analogous cases and vide order dated 17.12.2004 the State Government was given two weeks time to take up the recommendation made by University and pass final order.

5. In compliance of the aforesaid order in the MJC, the Department of Human Resources Development, Government of Bihar came out with Memo No. 31 dated 05.01.2005 granting approval to the recommendations made by the University with respect to regularization of services of different non- teaching employees working in different constituent Colleges and Departments under the University following which the University came with a notification dated 24.02.2005 by which services of 196 persons including the petitioners were regularized with effect from 06.06.2024 with the stipulation that they would be entitled for payment of their salaries in the approved pay scale from January, 2005 and arrears for the period between 06.06.2004 to December, 2004 will be paid after receipt of the funds from the State Government.

6. The petitioners at this stage relies upon the judgment dated 10.05.2006 passed by this Court in CWJC No. 3274 / 2001 and another analogous cases wherein the services of eighteen employees working on Daily Wage basis in different Colleges / Departments of the University were terminated with effect from 01.03.2001. This Court taking into consideration other facts and circumstances including the notification dated 06.06.2004 by which services of fourteen out of eighteen employees were already regularized, directed to regularize their services with effect from the date of initial joining for the purpose of pensionary benefits including the benefits of family pension. However, it was further clarified that incidental and consequential benefits on account of regularization other than pensionary benefits will depend upon the outcome of pending matter before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in SLP No. 25732 of 2004 (Civil Appeal No. 987 of 2006). The SLP was preferred by the State against an order dated 03.02.2004 passed in LPA No. 835 of 1997 (Awadesh Prasad Yadav & Ors. versus The State of Bihar & Ors.) reported in 2004(2) PLJR 689 by which the appellants of the said LP