Srinagar: The J&K High Court has quashed a 2012 government order that rejected the engagement of scores of agriculture technocrats as Rehbar-e-Zirat (ReZ) and directed the Union territory authorities to accord consideration for their engagement in the concerned departments.
The then State government in 2008 had appointed scores of candidates possessing degrees and diplomas in agriculture and sericulture engineering on the pattern of ReZ but later on “arbitrarily” rejected their appointment in 2012.
Justice Javed Iqbal Wani allowed the petition of the aggrieved technocrats and quashed the Government Order no.323-Agri of 2012 dated 23.11.2012.
He directed the respondent Union Territory authorities “to accord consideration to the case of petitioners for their engagement as Rehbar-e-Zirat in terms of Government Order no.20-Agri of 2007 dated 6th February 2007”.
The then State government in 2006 with a view to examine various ways to engage the unemployed agriculture graduates in the J&K in gainful employment had accorded sanction to engagement of all agriculture graduates under ReZ scheme at a monthly stipend of Rs 1500.
The unemployed agriculture and sericulture engineers also applied for registering themselves with Chief Agriculture Officers of their concerned districts in pursuance of the government of 2007.
However, the Director Agriculture Kashmir issued an engagement order in respect of unemployed B.Sc. Agriculture and Horticulture as ReZ and did not consider the engagement of the related technocrats.
The officer then proposed creation of posts for their absorption and till creation of posts for them was cleared by the higher-ups he recommended to engage them on stipend basis.
The proposal was okayed and the concerned heads of departments were asked to make their engagement on the ReZ pattern. They were designated as Junior Agri. Engineers on the pattern of ReZ in 2008.
In 2012, the government issued an order no.323-Agri and rejected the claim for engagement of the agriculture and sericulture engineers as ReZ, forcing them to knock at the portals of the court.
The decisions taken by the government in 2008 clearing absorption of the agriculture and sericulture engineers generated a reasonable and legitimate expectation to the petitioners for their absorption, the court observed.
“The change affected by the respondents from their assured positions against the case of the petitioners in the process seemingly infringed the doctrine of legitimate expectations in as much as Article 14 of the Constitution viz-a-viz the petitioners,” it said.
Petitioners have had a legitimate expectation of being treated in a certain way by the respondents as had been a consistent past practice followed by them while bestowing the similarly situated persons the benefit of various schemes, which included Rehbar-e-Taleem, Rehbar-e-Ziraat, it noted.
It held the order of rejection of the services of the petitioners by the respondents as “tainted with arbitrariness, discriminatory in nature, manifestly violative of the Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation and Article 14 of the Constitution”.
