Srinagar, Dec 25: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has reprimanded the government over “selective implementation” of court judgements in similarly situated cases, saying “pick and choose” implementation of such decisions is an “abuse of the process of law”.
“We have observed numerous instances, where the Government has treated similarly situated persons disparately. However, the instant case stands as a classic example where the appellant, the Union Territory of J&K, has adopted a policy of ‘pick and choose’ even in implementing court judgments,” a Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal said while dismissing the government’s related appeals in a recent decision.
The Court observed that while consistency in judicial decisions constitutes the bedrock of any legal system, consistency in State action is indispensable, parallelly, serving to guarantee fairness, non-arbitrariness, and predictability in governance.
Action by the State which fails to exhibit uniformity across similar circumstances shall be deemed vitiated and bad in law on the ground of discrimination, the court said.
In pursuance to the advertisement notice dated October 10, 2013, the JKSSB upon conclusion of the selection process had forwarded the select list of Dental Assistant and Junior Dental Technician to the Director, Health Services, Jammu for issuance of formal appointment orders in favour of the selected candidates.
Some candidates were not considered by the JKSSB for not being in possession of requisite qualification prescribed in the notification, as they were holding Diploma in Dental Hygienist Training Course.
The aggrieved candidates who had participated in the selection process approached the court and the single judge bench vide judgment dated August 31, 2017 directed the JKSSB to treat the aggrieved candidates as eligible for the post of Dental Assistants and consider them for selection and appointment as per merit.
Thereafter, the JKSSB issued revised selection list dated March 22, 2018 and after examining the same, the Health and Medical Education Department found that some of the candidates, who had been earlier selected before the revision of the selection list, were not figuring in the revised select list. Thereafter, the appeals were filed against the single Judge’s decision.
The Court observed that “surprisingly, the judgment dated September 19, 2016 passed in SWP No. 2112/2015 was implemented, whereas the judgment based on the judgment dated September 19, 2016 had been challenged by the appellant.
The Court observed it as “astonishing” that the concerned authorities chose to assail the single Judge’s judgment after the appellant (employer) had itself advised the JKSSB via communication dated November 19, 2015 that candidates possessing a Diploma in Dental Hygienist were eligible for appointment as Dental Assistant and Junior Dental Technician.
The Court observed that the appellant had shown a regrettable disregard for the fate of the successful candidates in the revised select list. “Instead of rectifying this delay, the appellant chose to challenge the judgment dated 31.08.2017 after 6 long years, solely to protect the appointment of ousted candidates in the revised select list”.
The Court, accordingly, dismissed the appeals with costs of Rs 10,000 payable to each of the candidates who figured in the revised select list issued vide order dated March 22, 2018.