Possession of essential qualifications is mandatory for employment; failure to meet eligibility criteria justifies termination without a departmental enquiry.

Order :

(Sanjay K. Agrawal, J.)

1. The short question involved in the present writ petition is as to whether the respondent No.3 is justified in terminating the services of the petitioner with immediate effect without holding a departmental enquiry holding that she was not eligible to be appointed on the post of Assistant Grade-III (for short AG-III).

2. The aforesaid challenge has been made on the following factual backdrop:-

(i) An advertisement (Annexure P/2) was issued by respondent No.3, inviting applications for recruitment on the post of AG-III along with other posts. The petitioner applied for the said post vide Annexure P/3 and ultimately after due selection process appointment order was issued in her favour on 02.07.2014 appointing her on probation for a period of two and pursuant thereto she joined her duties vide joining letter dated 04.07.2014.

(ii) A complaint was made against the petitioner that she was having more than two living children on or before 26^th of January, 2001, and on that account, a show cause notice was issued to the petitioner by respondent No.3, seeking her explanation to which she replied stating that she has only two daughters namely Ku. Shraddha Patel, aged about 9 years and Ku. Shriya Patel, aged about 7 years. Therefore, the complaint was found false and accordingly, it was closed vide Ex.R/4.

(iii) Subsequently, a second complaint was made against the petitioner regarding her to having more than two children and on account of which another show cause notice was issued to the petitioner. However, at this time, in reply to this show cause notice, the petitioner disclosed that her eldest daughter Ku. Shraddha Patel has already been given on adoption vide Annexure P/6 on 03.03.2014 i.e. the date of issuance of the advertisement also. The four member committee was Constituted by the Competent Authority to make enquiry and to submit a report in this regard. In the enquiry, it was found by the committee that the petitioner has three living children and all have born after 26.01.2001. As such, relying upon that enquiry report the petitioner’s services were terminated by stating that it is in breach of clause 6(4)(ख) of the advertisement dated 03.03.2014 which provides that a candidate applying for the post of AG-III shall not be eligible for appointment, if she/he has more than two living children and one of them was born on or after 26.01.2001 and in the present case the petitioner is having three children and all of them have born after 26.01.2001, questioning that impugned order dated 28.02.2015, the instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner.

3. State has filed their return stating inter alia that since the petitioner was having three children on the date of appointment and all three have born after 26.01.2001. Though the adoption deed has been notarized on 03.03.2014 i.e. the date of issuance of advertisement also, but the petitioner’s appointment was clearly in violation of conditions of clause 6(4)(ख) and, as such, the petitioner’s services have rightly been terminated. No rejoinder has been filed on behalf of the petitioner controverting the allegations made in the return.

4. Mr. Ravikar Patel and Mr. Ramkrishan Kashyap, learned counsel for the petitioners, would submit that the competent authority is absolutely unjustified in terminating the services of the petitioner as the impugned order is stigmatic in nature and she has been held to be guilty of misconduct and, therefore, a departmental enquiry was necessary to terminate the services of the petitioner, which has admittedly, not been done. As such, the impugned order dated 28.02.2015 deserves to be set aside and the petitioner is entitled to be reinstated in services with all consequential benefits. To buttress their submission, they would rely upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the matter of Ratnesh Kumar Choudhary v. Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar and others, (2015) 15 SCC 151.

5. Mr. Amit Buxy,