HC quashes Hooda Govt's denial of jobs to nurses in 2004

Chandigarh, Jan 22 (UNI) The Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the Hooda government's decision to re-advertise the 400 posts of staff nurses after rejecting the candidates selected by the State Staff Selection Commission in December, 2004.

The division bench of Justices Ashutosh Mohunta and R.S.Madan also ordered the Haryana government to appoint within two months the candidates chosen on regular basis on the terms and conditions mentioned in the advertisement of August 31, 2004 .

The Hooda government had rejected the HSSC candidates on the ground that the move was in violation of the model code of conduct for the general elections to Haryana Vidhan Sabha in force at that time.

The 10-page verdict came in response to a bunch of 31 writ petitions preferred by the candidates who had been selected in 2004 during then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala's regime but were denied appointments after the Hooda ministry assumed power in March 2005.

The bench observed that there was no fault in the selection process except that the Model Code of Conduct had come into force.

All it required to do was to make the appointments of the selected candidates after the elections when the code was no longer in force, the bench added.

The entire process of selection had been completed by December 17 and only the result was declared by HSSC.

UNI