Back
2019 Supreme(Del) 506
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
S. Muralidhar, I.S. Mehta, JJ.
Rakesh Kumar Verma – Appellant
Versus
Jawaharlal Nehru University and Another – Respondents
Letters Patent Appeal No. 159 of 2018
Decided On : 03-05-2019
Krishnan Venugopal, Adv., Siddhartha, Adv., Pooja Dhar, Adv., Deepanshi, Adv., Shivendra Singh, Adv., Monika Arora, Adv., Kushal Kumar, Adv., Harsh Ahuja, Adv., Praveen Singh, Adv.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Appellant's appointment as Finance Officer was by way of deputation and continued as such. The repatriation of the Appellant was virtually at the end of his term of deputation and cannot be termed as 'premature'. The impugned decision of the JNU to repatriate him to the office of the CAG at the end of his normal period of deputation was not vitiated by malafides.
Headnote:
Deputation - Finance Officer Appointment - Statute 9, Statute 27, DOPT OM dated 5th January, 1994, DOPT OM dated 17th June, 2010 - The Appellant's appointment as Finance Officer was by way of deputation and continued as such. The repatriation of the Appellant was virtually at the end of his term of deputation and cannot be termed as 'premature'. The impugned decision of the JNU to repatriate him to the office of the CAG at the end of his normal period of deputation was not vitiated by malafides.
Fact of the Case:
The Appellant was appointed as Finance Officer of JNU on deputation basis. The JNU decided to repatriate the Appellant to his parent department at the end of his normal period of deputation.
Finding of the Court:
The Court found that the Appellant's appointment as Finance Officer was by way of deputation and continued as such. The repatriation of the Appellant was virtually at the end of his term of deputation and cannot be termed as 'premature'. The impugned decision of the JNU to repatriate him to the office of the CAG at the end of his normal period of deputation was not vitiated by malafides.
Issues: The main issue was whether the Appellant's appointment as Finance Officer was by way of deputation and whether the decision to repatriate him to his parent department at the end of his normal period of deputation was valid.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the Appellant's appointment as Finance Officer was by way of deputation and continued as such. The repatriation of the Appellant was virtually at the end of his term of deputation and cannot be termed as 'premature'. The impugned decision of the JNU to repatriate him to the office of the CAG at the end of his normal period of deputation was not vitiated by malafides.
Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed with no order as to costs.
S. Muralidhar, J.
This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 15th March, 2018 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court dismissing the Appellant's Writ Petition (C) No.10626/2017 assailing an order dated 23rd November, 2017 issued by the Respondent No.1, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where he was working as Finance Officer, asking him to proceed on leave with immediate effect and the order dated 25th November, 2017 issued by JNU relieving him of his duties and responsibilities as Finance Officer from the forenoon of 27th November, 2017.
Background facts
2. Statute 9 of the Statutes of the JNU lays down the duties and powers of the Finance Officer. Clause 9 (7) states that the Finance Officer "shall be the Secretary of the Finance Committee and exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed by the statutes." As a practice, the post of Finance Officer has been occupied by a person on deputation from the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The procedure for appointment involves an advertisement being issued by the CAG inviting applications from persons willing to serve as such. In terms of Statute 27 a Selection Committee of the JNU thereafter conducts the inteof candidates shortlisted. The post of the Finance Officer is a tenure post. Statute 9 (1) states that Finance Officer shall be appointed by the Executive Committee (EC) of JNU and shall be whole time salaried officer.
3. On 10th August, 2010 JNU wrote to the Assistant Comptroller & Auditor General of India in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) stating that the term of deputation of the previous Finance Officer of JNU was getting over on 16th August, 2010. JNU stated in the letter that it would like to fill the vacancies by drawing from Officers belonging to the Audit and Account services or from similar services. The letter indicated the qualifications, pay scale and job description of Finance Officer of JNU.
4. On 13th August, 2010 the CAG informed all eligible and willing Senior Administrative Grade Officers to send their willingness to the CAG to be appointed as Finance Officer of JNU, by 20th August, 2010. On 17th February, 2011 the Appellant sent an application to the CAG. On 8th February, 2011 the Vice Chancellor (VC) of JNU had asked the office of the CAG to send the names of few more officers so that the Selection Committee, constituted under Section 27 (2) (G) of the Statutes of JNU could select a competent candidate. By a letter dated 4th March, 2011 the CAG sent the names and bio-data of three officers for consideration.
5. The meeting of the Selection Committee was held on 4th April, 2011. On 6th April, 2011 the VC of JNU wrote to the CAG stating inter-alia that on the recommendations of the Selection Committee, the EC of JNU had in its meeting held on 5th April, 2011 approved the appointment of the Appellant as Finance Officer of the JNU.
6. An order was issued thereafter by the Office of the CAG on 25th April 2011 placing the services of the Appellant at the disposal of JNU "for appointment to the post of Finance Officer on deputation basis." JNU issued a Notification dated 25th May 2011 stating that the Appellant had taken over as Finance Officer with effect from the forenoon of 19th May 2011.
7. On 17th June, 2013 an office order was issued by JNU stating that in continuation of an earlier office order dated 17th May, 2012 "the deputation term" of the Appellant as Finance Officer of the JNU had been extended upto five years i.e. upto 18th May, 2016 "on existing terms and conditions on deputation."
8. On 18th November, 2013 an "Ordinance relating to terms and conditions of services of the Finance Officer" of JNU was approved. It inter-alia provided that the tenure would be five years which could be renewed for similar tenures by the EC and further that the Finance Officer shall retire on attaining the age of 62 years. Clause 7 of the Ordinance stated that the other
