Appointments to public posts must comply with constitutional provisions, requiring open advertisement to ensure fair competition among eligible candidates.

Judgment and Order :

BUDI HABUNG, J.

Heard Mr. Tongpok Pongener, learned counsel for the petitioner. I have also heard Ms. Bichano Kithan, learned Government Advocate for the respondent Nos. 1 to 4, and Mr. Alezo Kire, learned counsel for the respondent No. 5.

2. By filing this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner prays for quashing and setting aside the appointment order No. MMC-1/EST/2005/65 dated 16.07.2019, by which the private respondent No. 5 has been appointed as Chowkidar of the Park. The petitioner also seeks directions to the respondents to consider his appointment to the said post on the basis of land ownership.

3. The petitioner claims to be one of the eligible landowners of the land on which the Town Park, Mokokchung, under the Mokokchung Town Committee (MTC), has been established. This land was donated by the petitioner’s clan to the District Administration, free of cost, in the early 1960s at the request of the then Deputy Commissioner of Mokokchung. The Park was subsequently handed over to the Mokokchung Town Committee (MTC) and renamed from ‘Kathing’s Park’ to ‘Town Park’.

4. The petitioner contends that at the time of the land donation, an agreement was made with the District Administration stipulating that the landowners would be entitled to Grade-IV posts and that all contract works related to the park would be awarded to them. However, all documents related to the land, which were kept under the custody of the District Administration, are no longer available. This fact has been acknowledged by the Mokokchung Town and is reflected in the minutes of the MTC meeting held on 25.06.2001.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Government of Nagaland has adopted a policy of giving preference to landowner candidates in matters of appointment to all Grade-IV posts. However, in 2018, the Government issued a notification regarding appointments to Grade-IV posts under the Government of Nagaland on a land ownership basis. This notification includes provisions for addressing claims based on oral agreements, requiring the Department concerned to refer such matters to the Deputy Commissioner for careful examination. The relevant portion of the notification is reproduced as under:

“3(b) If there is any claim for providing employment as a result of oral agreement, the Department concerned shall refer the matter to the Deputy Commissioner of the District concerned who shall examine the claim carefully including whether any employment or any other facility including contract or supply order has been given in the past. Written statements from the witnesses, that is, Government officials of the concerned department and the District Administration and village functionaries present at the time of such oral agreement should be taken by the Deputy Commissioner. The recommendation of the Deputy Commissioner should be referred with relevant documents to the Department of Land Revenue for advice in such cases by the Department concerned.”

6. The petitioner further contends that a vacancy for the post of Chowkidar arose upon the demise of the incumbent, late Mr. Shamshir Gurung, on 06.07.2018. In response to this vacancy, the petitioner’s uncle, Shri Nungshimayang Kichu, submitted an application dated 07.07.2018, requesting the Additional Deputy Commissioner & Mokokchung Municipal Council, Mokokchung (respondent No.4) for appointment of his candidate respondent No. 5 on the basis of land ownership. This representation was submitted without the knowledge and consent of the petitioner’s clan, and the respondent No. 5, who is the brother-in-law of Shri Nungshimayang Kichu, is not a landowner.

7. Based on this application, the respondent No. 4 issued the impugned appointment order No. MMC-1/EST/2006/65 dated 16.07.2019, appointing respondent No. 5 as Chowkidar of the Town Park in the post vacated by late Mr. Shamshir Gurung. At the time of this appointment, the petitioner was residing in h