DIMAPUR, MARCH 1 (MExN): The Additional Advocate General (AAG) of Nagaland State has said that “there is no legally sustainable ground for preferring an appeal” against the Kohima Bench of the Guwahati High Court’s judgment, dated November 14, 2014, regarding the case of Dr. Atouzo Pienyu & Ors vs The State of Nagaland & Ors, on the legality of the regularization of 15 doctors as Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (VAS) by the government in the State Veterinary Department.
The AAG said this in a letter to the Commissioner and Secretary, V&AH department, dated January 28, 2015, which was made available to the media by the Against Corruption and Unabated Taxation (ACAUT) Nagaland.
The court, in its judgment, had ruled that “the entry of these appointees into the service having been achieved through back door cannot acquire any right and so regularization of their services would amount to negating the prescribed procedure at the cost of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.” The judge, N. Chaudhury concluded that regularization of 13 out of 15 doctors as VAS “are untenable in view of the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court….Their regularization orders, therefore, are hereby set aside.”
In his letter, the AAG said that the Nagaland State Government “should not prefer an appeal unless it is satisfied, on careful consideration and proper scrutiny that the decision is erroneous and public interest requires that it should be brought before a superior court for being corrected.” He cautioned that the State Government “should not adopt a litigious approach and waste public revenues on fruitless and futile legislation where there are no chances of success.”
The AAG further stated that according to the Additional Senior Government Advocate, Nagaland, a writ appeal “has been filed by the private respondents against the said judgment and order before the principal seat of the Guwahati High Court. In the said appeal, the state government has been arrayed as proforma respondent and the same is pending disposal.”
If the purpose for preferring an appeal is to ensure that regularization (completed by June 2011) of the private respondents is not disturbed, the AAG suggested that instead of filing an appeal, the government/department “may give necessary instruction to the Additional Senior Government Advocate, Nagaland at Guwahati, to appropriately present the case of the government/department as and when the appeal (filed by the private respondents) is heard.”
The ACAUT Nagaland meanwhile stated that the High Court order is a “blanket ban on regularization of services of all backdoor appointees in every department under the State government.” It further asked the “P&AR department to therefore, stop its desperate attempt to regularize the services of the 19 backdoor appointee doctors, 2009-11 batch, as Medical Officers (MO). Both the P&AR and Medical departments are reminded that such regularization, henceforth, would amount to Contempt of Court.”
“Finally, by issuing the appointment order of those 2015 NPSC cleared 18 Medical Officers on 1st March 2016, after a criminal delay of 4 months, sanity has mercifully returned to the Medical department,” ACAUT Nagaland stated.
