- (1.) THERE are seven con nected writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India involving identi cal though familiar constitutional ques tions based on Articles 14 and 16, which are covered by the terse and emphatic enunciation of law by the apex Court. The setting too is familiar as also the submis sions. For these reasons, a brief narration of facts and a common judgment in all the seven cases will suffice.
(2.) 1862 posts of Constables in Central Industrial Security Force (for short 'cisf') in the pay scale of Rs. 825-1200 were advertised in October 1996. These posts were spread over various States of the country. Out of these 1862 posts, 115 posts were allocated to the CISF unit of Food Corporation of India, Gorakhpur and the same number of posts, i. e. , 115 were allocated in CISF unit of Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. Jhansi. Separate Boards for recruitment/selec tion of the candidates of the two units of Gorakhpur and Jhansi were constituted. The selection process commenced at both the units on 28th October, 1996. In Jhansi unit, the process was completed on 8-11-1996 while in Gorakhpur unit it was con cluded on 16-11-1996. The Select lists were required to be approved by Deputy Inspector General, CISF (North Zone) Delhi. Sri Akbar Ali Khan was the DIG, CISF (North Zone) at the relevant time. The select list of Jhansi was approved by Sri Khan on 20- 11-1996 and on 28-11-1996 he directed Sri Baral, Comman dant/chairman, Jhansi Board of Recruit ment to complete the pre-enrollment for malities and to issue appointment letters in respect of the candidates selected for BHEL Jhansi. Similarly Sri Khan, DIG (Northern Zone) accorded approval to the -. elect list of Gorakhpur unit on 4-12-1996 and Sri P. P. John Alex, Commandant and Chairman of the Gorakhpur Recruit ment Board was directed to complete the formalities and issue letters of appoint ment to the candidates selected for Food Corporation of India, Gorakhpur. Under the instructions contained in letter dated 17-10-1996, issued by the Director General, CISF New Delhi, the DIG (Northern Zone) was required to for ward the recommendations and proceed ings of the Boards of Recruitment to CISF Headquarters for final clearance. Before final clearance in the matter could be ac corded, a spate of complaints containing allegations of favouritism, nepotism, cor ruption and malpractices with regard to the selection process, in general and against Sri Akbar Ali Khan, DIG (North ern Zone) CISF, in particular, came to be made. The Director General, CISF or dered for discreet enquiries in the matter. Sri R. K. Shukla, DIG, Intelligence Opera tion made enquiries. Thereafter, Sri Kishore Kunal, IPS, Inspector General/cisf (Eastern Sector) Patna was deputed by the order of the Director General CISF to make enquiries. Sri Kunal submitted a preliminary report of enquiry on 9-4- 1997 in which he reported that at least seven mohammedan candidates (all 'khans') have been selected on the intervention of Sri A. A. Khan, DIG, CISF (North Zone ). It was reported that undue favour has been shown to these seven candidates on account of their proximity to the DIG ; that the two can didates, namely, S/sri Mohd. Nafees Khan and Mohd. Naushad Khan belong to DIG's native place and were his neigh bours ; the other candidates are either his relatives or have been in close touch with him for long. It was also hinted that Sri A. A. Khan, DIG had pressurised Sri Baral to include these candidates in the select list and Sri Baral succumbed to the pres sure as he was given an indication that the DIG, Sri Khan will help Sri Baral in get ting a extension of tenure in service. A probe was also made in respect of certain other candidates against whose selection complaints were made. Sri Kunal, Inspec tor General (E. S.) reported that about the selection of other candidates named in the complaint, it was learnt that the middle man (Dalai) had taken them to recruit ment centre after taking some money but whether money played some part in the selection of the candidates was not con firmed. The probe, according to Sri Kunal was to go on and required some more time. A passing reference was also made by Sri Kunal to the circumstance that certain candidates of Eastern U. P. preferred to go to the distant Jhansi Recruitment Centre instead of applying and appearing before the adjacent Gorakhpur Recruitment Centre. This fact was intriguing and, ac cording to Sri Kunal, it indicated that the candidates of eastern belt had been as sured by some persons yielding authority or those who were very close to the authorities to get them selected from Jhansi Recruitment Centre. It was, in ef fect, a provisional report in the matter and the detailed report was to follow. On receipt of this report, the Director General scrapped the recruitment by order dated 11-4-1997. This order was communicated to the concerned authorities on 17-4-1997. On account of the scrapping of the whole recruitment and selection process, the petitioner who claim themselves to have been duly selected by the Recruitment Boards of Jhansi and Gorakhpur and as approved by the DIG, Sri A. A. Khan, could not secure appointment letters. It is in the context of these facts that the petitioners have prayed for the relief that the order dated 17-4-1997 issued by the Director General, CISF, New Delhi, scrapping the recruitments be quashed and that the respondents be com manded to send the petitioner for training of Constables at CISF and to appoint them on the said posts in pursuance of their selection held pursuant to the advertise ment dated 28-10- 1996. Counter and rejoinder-affidavits have been ex. ranged. Heard Sri Ashok Khare, as well as Sri Aijaz Ahmad Khan, learned Advocates, on behalf of the petitioners and Sri S. C. Budhwar, learned Senior Advocate, assisted by Sri Sudhir Agarwal, Advocate on behalf of the respondents.
(3.) TO begin with, it may be pointed out that the impugned order dated 17-4-1997 whereby recruitment process as well as select lists have been scrapped, came to be challenged, inter alia, on the grounds that since the recruitments was made in consonance with the rules and the ad ministrative instructions and since no il legality or irregularity has been com mitted, question of its cancellation did not arise ; that the decision to scrap the flaw less recruitment/selection is clearly in flagrant violation of the principles of natural justice, inasmuch as, no oppor tunity was afforded to the petitioners to rebut the various complaints and in any case, there was no administrative ground justifying the cancellation of selection. It was also urged that the decision to scrap the selection is not based on substantial material and grounds and the impugned decision is arbitrary, capricious and irra tional. Certain allied points, which may be discussed in the body of the judgment at the appropriate place, have also been raised to challenge the order to scrap the entire selection process and the select lists. On behalf of the respondents, it has been maintained that the present writ petitions at the instance of the petitioners are not maintainable for the reason that the petitioners are only candidates in the process of recruitment, wherein even the panel has not become final having not been approved by the competent authority and, therefore, the petitioners have no legal right to challenge the decision of the Head of the Department to hold a fresh selection. It is also alleged that even if it be taken that the petitioners have been final ly selected, they do not have an in defeasible right of appointment o: to remain on the panel and, therefore, the petitioners have no locus standi to chal lenge the impugned order. The respon dents have justified the order of cancella tion of the select list and scrapping of the entire selection process on the ground that the matter involved recruitment of Con stables in the CISF which have been entrusted with a very sensitive task of providing security to public sector under takings and if the candidates find their entry in shady and dishonest circumstan ces, the purity of the organization would be seriously affected. Approval granted by the Zonal DIG (Sri A. A. Khan) has also been challenged on the ground that he has flouted the circular letter dated 17-10-1996 whereby it was made departmentally incumbent upon the DIG, Zone to obtain clearance of the Director General and since select lists were not approved or cleared by the Director General, they never became final and on the basis of the list, only approved by the Zonal DIG, the petitioners cannot stake their claim for training and appointment. It is further maintained that the scrapping of the selec tion process or the select list was neces sary in view of the fact that there were serious complaints of dishonesty, favouritism and mal practices and that the action of the Director General, CISC has been approved even by the Home Ministry by their letter dated 14th May, 1997 and now fresh recruitment has to be held in which, with a view to mitigate the hardship of the petitioners, it has been provided that the petitioners shall be considered irrespective of the fact that they have be come overage.;