Around 15 class IV employees of the Gujarat High Court, out of the total 94, whose recruitment had been cancelled following a row over their appointments, have moved the HC challenging their termination of services.
The High Court had last month cancelled the appointment of the 94 class IV employees who were recruited by its former acting Chief Justice, V M Sahai, allegedly by flouting norms. All of them had been appointed allegedly without any public advertisement.
Justice Sonia Gokani of the Gujarat High Court is likely to hear the case on October 20.
A committee of the high court judges, which was formed to probe the case, had issued show-cause notices to the appointed candidates after irregularities were found in the recruitment.
A city-based RTI activist Ajay Prajapati had last month filed an affidavit before the high court alleging that due process was not followed and several rules were flouted by the high court in recruiting the class IV employees, such as peons recently.
He claimed that he had earlier raised this issue by writing a letter on July 3 to the HC Registrar, President of India, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and others.
In the letter, which is now a part of his affidavit, Prajapati said Article 229 of the Constitution confers powers on the high court for appointment of officers and servants of HC.
"But it does not mean that the high court can appoint any staff without following any process of law. This amounts to back-door entry. In these posts, the staff appointed are the relatives of HC judges and staff attached to them...Their sons and relatives only," the letter alleged.
