JUDGMENT :

Arijit Banerjee, J.

1. The writ petitioners have challenged a vacancy notice dated December 4, 2021, issued by the respondent no. 3, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Institute of Medical Science (in short ‘ANIIMS’), inviting online application to fill up administrative, paramedical and nursing posts on contract basis in which the members of the petitioner Association are already working on contract basis. There is a further prayer for issuance of a mandamus directing the respondent authorities to consider regularisation of services of the members of the petitioner Association in the respective posts created on November 14, 2019.

2. The case of the writ petitioners as was argued before me and as would appear from the written notes of arguments filed on their behalf, is as follows:-

(a) The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Medical Education and Research Society (in short ‘the Society’), is a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act. The Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the President of the governing body of the said Society.

(b) ANIIMS is an institution run by the said Society with the object of providing medical education, medical service and undertaking medical research in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

(c) For the purpose of establishing the said medical college as per the guidelines of National Medical Commission (in short ‘NMC’), the said Society initiated the process of recruitment and appointment to various categories of posts. For that purpose, vacancy notices were published by the respondent no. 2 being the said Society. As per the vacancy notices, an aspiring candidate having essential qualification prescribed in the notices, was required to submit his application in the prescribed form. Candidates were to be short listed on the basis of their performance in academic and professional courses. Thereafter, the appointments were to be made.

(d) The members of the petitioner Association participated in the said selection process. The successful candidates were appointed on contract basis, in the posts of Section-In-charge, Section Executive, Office Assistant, Store keeper Cum Clerk, Data Entry Operator, MTS / Office Attendant, Duty Librarian, Documentalist, Cataloger, Library Assistant, Library Attendant, Care Taker, Social Worker, Artist, AB Technician, Photographer, Dissection, Hall Attender, Cytotechnologist, Lab Technician, Lab Assistant, OT technician, IT Assistant, OT Attendant, Junior Radiographer, Renal Technician and Staff Nurse. The appointments were made on the basis of the recommendation of the selection committee, initially for a period of one year, subject to extension on mutual consent and satisfactory performance of the concerned candidate.

(e) The appointments of the members of the petitioner Association were extended from time to time.

(f) Vide order dated March 4, 2020, issued by the said Society, it was recorded that in the meeting held on November 15, 2019, the Executive Council of the said Society had approved creation of 425 posts in ANIIMS in addition to the 107 posts created on November 21, 2014. The details of the new posts created were stated in the annexure to the said order.

(g) ANIIMS is a newly constituted institution owned by the Andaman & Nicobar Administration. No posts were created/sanctioned at the time of its commencement in the year 2015. Initially, to make ANIIMS operational, it recruited qualified candidates from open market by issuing suitable advertisements. It followed the guidelines issued by NMC. Members of the petitioner Association having requisite qualification, participated in the selection process and were duly recruited by ANIIMS.

(h) Although their appointments were made on contract basis, the members of the petitioner Association rendered unblemished service to ANIIMS. As per the Office Memorandum dated December 31, 2010, which is still in force, ANIIMS should have kept the clause of initial constitution while framing of rec