DIMAPUR, DEC 19 (MExN): In what is alleged as a clear contravention of an earlier High Court ruling ordering the appointment of Government Lecturers selected through the NPSC, a senior NPF Minister is reportedly stonewalling the court verdict by refusing to give clear cut directions for the appointment order despite repeated plea made by the selected lecturers. It was alleged that since the contract lecturers were political appointees, certain vested interest is behind the move to scuttle the appointment of the selected lecturers.
Alleging that this amounted to contempt of court, the selected lecturers have even met the Chief Minister today but to no avail. Instead of abiding by the court verdict both the Chief Minister and the concern Minister have reportedly taken the stand that a Cabinet meeting will be held tomorrow to decide on whether to terminate the services of the contract lecturers and give appointment to the NPSC selected lecturers or retain the former and try to ‘accommodate’ the latter.
More significantly, a Cabinet decision taken on January 16, 2004 by the same government had decided that all contract lecturers who had served for five years or above on that day i.e January 14, 2004 would be regularized. The remaining contract lecturers below five years on that particular date were informed that they would have to appear NPSC for regularization.
It was informed that the remaining contract lecturers appeared the NPSC but went to court at the same time. While eleven of them got selected through the NPSC and withdrew from the case, the remaining managed to hold on to their respective posts through a stay order from the court.
It may be recalled that after a protracted legal battle lasting more than two years, the Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench on December 11 dismissed the writ petition filed by 20 contract lecturers for regularization of their services, citing that the “petitioners are not entitle to the relief claimed”.
The judgment also said that since the petitioners participated in the selection process and on their failure to get selection, they cannot allow challenging the selection process on the ground of the same being vitiated.
