Termination of temporary employees requires adherence to natural justice principles, including the right to a hearing before punitive actions are taken.

JUDGMENT :

(Sandeep Sharma, J.)

By way of instant writ petition, petitioner has prayed for following main reliefs:

(i) To issue a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 14.1.2020 as being illegal, arbitrary, and unconstitutional and against the principles of natural justice.

(ii) To issue a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to give the petitioner a joining on the post of PGT, History on PTA basis with due and consequential benefits.”

2. Key facts relevant for the adjudication of the case at hand are that the petitioner, who holds a Master’s Degree in History was appointed as Post Graduate Teacher (History) in Govt. Senior Secondary School, Lyhl, District Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, on PTA (GIA) basis in June 2006 In this capacity, the petitioner kept on discharging her services in given school till 16.7.2015 whereafter, she stopped coming to the school on account of her family circumstances. Vide office order dated 26.9.2016 Annexure P/2, Principal, GSSS Lyhl, while calling upon petitioner to submit explanation for her absence also asked her to join duties within 10 days from the receipt of the order. Though after having received aforesaid Office Order, petitioner vide communication dated 28.10.2016 Annexure P/3 submitted her joining but fact remains that she was not permitted to join despite repeated requests. Vide communication dated 29.12.2016 Annexure P/4, Principal of GSSS Lyhl, apprised the Deputy Director, Higher Education, Chamba, District Chamba with regard to joining submitted by the petitioner on 28.10.2016. Vide afore communication, Principal of school concerned specifically called upon Deputy Director, Higher Education, Chamba to take decision at the earliest so that studies of students in the school are not hampered for long.

3. Since authorities concerned failed to take decision on the joining submitted by petitioner, she was compelled to approach erstwhile H.P State Administrative Tribunal by way of Original Application No.2959 of 2018 (Annexure P-5) titled Smt. Darshna Kumari Vs State of H.P. & ors. While issuing notice in the aforesaid petition, erstwhile State Tribunal called upon authorities to take decision on communication dated 29.12.2016 addressed to Deputy Director Higher Education, Chamba by Principal, GSSS, Lyhl within a period of four weeks. However, aforesaid order was not complied with. As such erstwhile Tribunal vide order dated 4.1.2019 again issued order to competent authority to comply with earlier order dated 13.8.2018. Though vide afore order, Deputy Director Higher Education Chamba as well as Principal, GSSS Lyhl were made aware that in case orders are not complied with, they would be hauled for contempt, however, authorities failed to pay any heed to aforesaid orders passed by the erstwhile State Tribunal. On account of abolition of erstwhile H.P. State Tribunal, case filed by the petitioner was transferred to this Court and the same was registered as CWPOA No.1623 of 2019, which was disposed of vide judgment dated 3.1.2020 (Annexure P/7). Vide afore judgment, this Court directed Deputy Director Higher Education Chama to do the needful in terms of order dated 13.8.2018 within a period of one week. In compliance to aforesaid order passed by this Court, respondents passed order dated 14.1.2020 (Annexure P/8), whereby it came to be conveyed that petitioner herein shall not be permitted to rejoin and her services shall be deemed to have been terminated from the date she failed to come to the school.

4. In the afore background, the petitioner has approached this Court in the instant proceedings praying for reliefs as have been reproduced hereinabove.

5. Precisely, the grouse of the petitioner as has been highlighted in petition and further canvassed by Mr. Onkar Jairath, Advocate representing the petitioner is that the impugned order dated 14.1.2020 has been passed in violation of principle of natural justice because before passing such order, no opportu