The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Single judge's order on sewerage board appointment upheld

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 05, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Single judge's order on sewerage board appointment upheld

Staff Reporter

High CourtROUNDUP `It was in blatant violation of the KUWSSB Act'

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the order of a single judge setting aside the appointment of Srinivasa Reddy as Managing Director (MD) of Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board and ordering the issue of quo warranto to oust Mr. Reddy from office.

The court imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 on Mr. Reddy and Rs. 5,000 each on the State Government and the board for appealing against the single judge's order.

It directed that the amount be paid to Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA). A Division Bench comprising Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice Jawed Rahim dismissed the appeal by the State, the board and Mr. Reddy against the single-judge order, saying that the appointment order was in blatant violation of the KUWSSB Act.

On January 10, 2005, the single judge had set aside the appointment on contract of Srinivas Reddy from February 1, 2004 as MD of the board. Calling Mr. Reddy an usurper of the post, the single judge had ordered issue of quo warranto to oust him from office.

Holding his appointment to be ad hoc and without merit and castigating the Government for making such appointments, the single judge had observed that they were a negation of fair play.

"Any leeway to make ad hoc appointments to overcome emergent exigencies did not clothe the executive (Government) to make or regulate such appointments. Back door ad hoc appointments at the behest of the power source or otherwise and regular appointments according to the Act and rules are antagonistic to each other and they cannot co-exist".

The former is a negation of fair play while the latter is a product of order, it said.

The single judge had observed that the Government somehow was bent on appointing Mr. Reddy to the post although he did not have the required qualification.

Apart from the board and Mr. Reddy, the State Government too had appealed against the single judge's order. Rejecting the arguments of the appellants, the Bench upheld the order of the single judge.

It said it was open to the State to fill up the post according to the provisions and rules of the KUWSDB Act. If there was an urgency to appoint a person to the post, a suitable candidate could be appointed, it said.

The bench refused the request of the appellants to stay its order.

Amendment struck down

The High Court on Tuesday struck down the amendment to some provisions of the Karnataka Cooperatives Societies Act empowering the chief executive of society to cast his vote in the meetings of the managing committee.

Justice Mohan Shantanagouder allowed a petition by Ananda of Siddapura taluk in Uttara Kannada district challenging the 2001 amendment to the Act and permitting the chief executives to vote in the committee meetings of cooperative societies.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail