The Madras High Court has directed the Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD) in Puducherry to appear in person on Thursday and explain the number of illegal and irregular appointments made in his department so far and furnish the details thereof.
Justice S M Subramaniam gave the direction, asking the official to list out details of nature of appointments already made, while passing interim orders on a writ petition from Ayyasamy, an unemployed youth, on Tuesday.
According to the petitioner, illegal, irregular and back-door appointments in various departments in Puducherry government are frequently done by the authorities, violating their own Government Orders (GOs) and contrary to the principles laid down by the Supreme Court.
The judge noted that several appointments were made without giving equal opportunity to all eligible candidates and "the appointments were made based on favouritism and nepotism and at the whims and fancies of the authorities".
The temporary appointments were regularised after some time. The such practice resulted not only in unconstitutionality but also in the basic right of equal opportunity in public employment denied to the eligible aspirants.
The candidates were all aspiring to secure a job through an open competitive process. Thus, the issue raised by the petitioner in this regard is serious and has got a larger repercussion in the matter of public appointments, the judge said and gave the direction.
-With PTI Input
