Law:

Section:

  Government servant-"Officiating", appointment-Continuous officiation not specifically authorised by any law and Government or competent authority continuing to treat incumbent of a post as officiating-Purpose: to retain extra disciplinary powers-Determination, whether or not such condition validly attached and continued with post or appointment-Held, cannot be left entirely to discretion of Government or competent authority-Condition of "officiation" found to be unlawful or continued in an unlawful manner-Court cannot permit Government or competent authority to retain extra-constitutional power of arbitrary termina tion of service so as to defeat constitutional guarantees available to civil servants and would not give effect to such conditions. When continuous officiation is not specifically authorised by any law and the Government/competent authority continues to treat the incumbent of a post as officiating, it is only to retain extra-disciplinary powers or for other reasons including those Of inefficiency and negligency, e.g. failure on the part of the relevant authorities to make the rules in time, that the prefix "officiating" is continued to be used with the appointment and in some cases for years together. In proper cases, therefore, Courts are competent to decide whether for practical purposes and for legal consequences such appointments have permanent character and, when it is so found, to give legal effect to it. The power exercisable by the Government and/or the compe tent authority vis-a-vis an officiating appointee to terminate his service or to revert him to a lower post is concomitant goes along with the very important pre-requisite that the condition of officiation was lawfully attached initially and was lawfully continued subsequently. As soon as it is to be found that the condition was either unlawful or was continued in an unlawful manner, this would directly adversely affect the said power. Therefore, the lawful exercise of power is dependent upon the existence of a condition which is lawful. The question as to whether or not there is some such existing condition is, according to the Supreme Court view,…