M.Y.EQBAL, J. - (1.) HEARD the parties,
(2.) THE petitioner has prayed for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 17th November, 1998 passed by the Director Secondary Education, Government of Bihar, Patna whereby the petitioner has been removed from service. The petitioner 'scase is that he was appointed on the post of Clerk in the office of District Education Office, Sahebganj. The said letter of appointment was issued by the Regional Deputy Director of Education, Ranchi. In 1990. the salary of the petitioner was stopped on the ground that appointment of the petitioner was itself illegal in as much as Regional . Deputy Director of Education was not appointing authority. In 1993 the petitioner was removed from the service. The petitioner then challenged the said order by filing C.W.J.C. No. 1229/94 in the Patna High Court. The writ petition was disposed of on 25.4.1995 by a Bench of the Patna High Court holding that the petitioner was not appointed by the Additional Director, Ranchi but by the order issued by the Education Secretary. The order of cancellation of the service of the petitioner was set aside and it was observed that the Education Secretary shall not be precluded from proceeding afresh and passing a fresh order canceling the appointment if the same appointment made without following the procedure prescribed under the law. The relevant portion of the order is quoted hereinbelow : "Accordingly the impugned order so far the same relates to the petitioner is quashed. I may. however, observe that this order will not preclude the Education Secretary from canceling appointment of the petitioner on the ground that the same was made without following the procedure prescribed under law, that is, without issuing advertisement in the newspaper."
(3.) IT is only thereafter the Education Secretary proceeded with the matter and passed the impugned order holding that the petitioner was appointed without any advertisement and without following the procedure and the recruitment rules. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner mainly contended that the petitioner appointed in 1987 and after having continuously worked for 11 years, his service could not have been cancelled. Learned counsel relied upon two decision of the Patna High Court in the case of Abhay Kant Pandey V/s. State of Bihar, 2000 (2) PLJR 627, and Sitendra Kumar Singh V/s. State of Bihar, 2003 (4) PLJR 282.;