S.R.Singh, D.R.Chaudhary, JJ. - (1.) Kendriya Hindi Shikshan Mandal (hereinafter referred to as the 'Mandal') is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 the registered office of which is situated at Agra. The objects professed in the Memorandum of Association of the aforestated society for which the Mandal is established are : "To establish and to carry on the administration and management of the Central Institute of Hindi, i.e., Kendriya Hindi Sansthan. Agra (hereinafter to be called in abbreviated form as the "Sansthan")". The functions of the Mandal are to improve the standard of teaching of Hindi at various levels, to train Hindi teachers, to provide for the advanced study of Hindi language and literature and comparative linguistics of different Indian languages in relation to Hindi, to organise research in the teaching of the subject, to formulate, undertake, and facilitate such courses as are conducive to the development and propagation of Hindi as an all India language as envisaged in Article 351 of the Constitution amongst other functions enlisted in para 3 of the memorandum of Association Kendriya Hindi Sikshan Mandal, Agra, which is approved by the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare O.M. No. F-24-18/73-H (D.II) dated 1.9.1976. The Mandal consists amongst others, of the Minister/Dy. Minister of Education and Culture in the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare as its Chairman amongst other members and office bearers. The Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and the Director or Secretary are the officebearers of the Mandal. According to the bye-laws of Kendriya Hindi Sikshan Mandal, Agra. the Director of the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan shall be the Principal Executive Officer of the Mandal and shall be appointed by the Ministry of Education, Government of India out of a panel of three names suggested by the Governing Council. The Vice-Chairman is nominated by the Chairman. According to bye-law No. 16, the Director shall be the Administrative and Academic Head of the Institute, i.e., Sansthan and shall be accountable/responsible for its proper functioning and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions embodied in clause 16, the Director shall perform the duties and exercise powers as are set forth in Part II of the schedule of powers appended to the bye-laws.
(2.) The petitioner is working as the senior-most Professor and head of the department of Tribal Language and Research and Material Production Unit of the Sansthan. Professor Mahavir Saran Jain, the Director of the Institute retired in the afternoon of 31.1.2001 and by the impugned order dated 1.2.2001, Smt. Bela Banerji, Joint Secretary Languages Human Resources Development Ministry (Madhyamik Shiksha Evam Uchatiar Shiksha Vibhag, New Delhi) has been drafted to take over the charge of Director of the Institute in addition to her own duties until appointment of the Director of the Kendriya Hindi Sansthan. The case of the petitioner is that being the senior-most Professor in the Institute, he was entitled to take over the officiating charge of the post of Director until the appointment of a new Director.
(3.) The order impugned herein was challenged earlier by the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 8487 of 2001 which was disposed of by order dated 12.3.2001 attended with a direction to dispose of the representation preferred by the petitioner staking his claim for the post of Director, Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra, until appointment of the regular Director. Pursuant to the directions contained in the order dated 12.3.2001, the petitioner filed representation dated 17.4.2001 in continuation of his earlier representations dated 5.2.2001, 8.2.2001 and 19.3.2001. The matter was delved into by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary Education and Higher Education (Language Division) and by order dated 17.4.2001, the petitioner was communicated that after taking the matter into reckoning in some detail, the Selection Committee did consider his application along with those of other applicants but regrettably did not find him eligible for the post of Director of the Sansthan. It was also held that the post of Director being basically an administrative post could be filled up on selection basis through direct recruitment and keeping in view the responsibilities of the post of Director and the interests of the Sansthan, the post was not to be filled up simply on seniority basis. Aggrieved, the petitioner has filed the instant petition canvassing the legality of the order dated 1.2.2001 and 17.4.2001.;