Approval at Last: High Court Resolves Lab Assistant Appointment Dispute.
29 November 2024
Employee Related >> Corporate Law
In Prathamesh Nayan Mulye v/s The State of Maharashtra, Through the Department of Education, Mumbai & Others., the Petitioner challenged the order dated 20th October 2022 passed by Respondent No. 3, which denied approval of the Petitioner's appointment as a Laboratory Assistant at Respondent No. 5 School.
The Petitioner sought two main reliefs:
Quashing the impugned order and approving the appointment with all related benefits.
Directing the Respondents to process the Petitioner's name into the Shalarth system and issue a Shalarth Identity while releasing grants-in-aid from the appointment date.
The Petitioner's case was based on his appointment on 11th July 2012, after the vacancy arose following the superannuation of a previous Lab Assistant. Despite following due process, the Respondent No. 3 refused to approve the appointment, citing procedural lapses (failure to obtain prior permission and advertisement shortcomings) and reserved category backlogs.
The High Court examined the case and held:
The procedural errors (e.g., failing to seek prior permission and advertisement lapses) were irregularities, but they did not vitiate the selection process.
The Petitioner had been in uninterrupted service since 2012, and disturbing this would lead to undue prejudice.
The reserved category issue does not impact the approval of the Petitioner's appointment, as his position is in the open category.
The Court ruled in favor of the Petitioner, ordering:
The Respondent No. 3 to approve the Petitioner's appointment within 30 days.
Respondent Nos. 4 and 5 to pay Rs. 50,000 as costs to Kirtikar Law Library within 30 days.
Respondent No. 3 to enter the Petitioner's name into the Shalarth system and issue the Shalarth Identity in compliance with applicable law.
The Court clarified that while approving the Petitioner's appointment, the issue of backlog vacancies in reserved categories should be handled per the law in future recruitment efforts. The rule is thus made absolute in the above terms.