B.N. Sapru, J. - (1.) TILL the year 1973 there used to be Assistant Medical Officers Class II in the Railways. Recruitment was through the Union Public Service Commission. After 1 -1 -1973 the post of Assistant Medical Officer Class II was upgraded to Class I and they were designated as Assistant Divisional Medical Officer. These persons were again recruited through the Union Public Service Commission. Due to non -availability of Class I Assistant Divisional Medical Officer, the Railways Board authorised the General Managers of different Railways to make ad hoc appointments of Assistant Medical Officer in class II. The scale of pay of the Assistant Medical Officer Class II was lower than the pay scale of Assistant Medical Officer in Class I. The System of making ad hoc appointments in Class II as Assistant Medical Officer appears to have continued even till now. The petitioner was recruited on an ad hoc basis as Assistant Medical Officer in 1975. The appointment was for six months or till a regular Assistant Divisional Medical Officer recruited through the Union Public Service Commission became available and the services could be terminated at any time without notice. In the year 1979 the petitioner's services as Assistant Medical Officer Class II were terminated. The petitioner filed a Writ Petition in the Lucknow Bench of this Court being Writ Petition No. 48 of 1980, Dr. Surendra Kumar Shukla v. Union of India and others, which was admitted and the Court passed an interim order to the effect that unless some other person had been appointed to the post held by the petitioner, he would continue as Medical Officer. In the counter -affidavit, it is stated that since some other person had joined in place of the petitioner, the interim order could not be given effect to. The petitioner made a representation to the Ministry of Railways through the General Manager to allow the petitioner to continue. Consequent upon the order of the Railways Boards, the petitioner was given an appointment order by the General Manager of the North Eastern Railway dated 5 -9 -1980. This appointment was again for six months or till a candidate approved of by the Union Public Service Commission became available.
(2.) THEN followed an order dated 11 -11 -1983 terminating the petitioner's services and appointing Smt. Radha Sinha on an ad hoc basis in his place. It as this order which is the subject of challenge in this writ petition. Sri Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar appearing on behalf of the petitioner has attacked the order dated 11 -11 -1983 passed by the General Manager, North Eastern Railway, on several grounds. It is unnecessary to deal with all of them because the petition can be disposed of on one question alone.
(3.) IT is submitted by Sri Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar that the petitioner was a 'workman' within the meaning of the Industrial Disputes Act and as his services had been terminated without complying with the provisions of Sec. -25 -F of the Industrial Disputes Act (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act 8) the order is invalid.;