Dimapur, November 25 (MExN): Waking to the Naga Students’ Federation’s demanding a review of the length of service, the state government today said it has “agreed in principle” to “fix the maximum length of service for government employees – but depending on the judgment of the court of law. The government rolled the ball into the court of the court – the state will do whatever it can, but any review of the maximum length of service for state government employees is “subject to favorable judgments” by learned “courts”. Curiously, the letter addressed to the NSF president emphasized the word “court’ in capital letters.
The letter, from Nagaland Chief Secretary Lalhuma said the state government has “agreed in principle” but made abundantly clear that any official review and subsequent action would depend only on “favorable judgments”. The government said the court would be approached for a go on the review and if any “adverse judgment” is given, then the Supreme Court would be approached. So basically, what the government implied, was a review “subject to favorable judgments”. The government assured the NSF that “the state government will file a review petition before the division bench of the Guwahati High court within a period of one week, along with a petition for condonation (sic) of the delay, praying for review of its earlier judgment and order dated 18.1.1993 in WP civil Rule No. 364 if 1992”.
“In the event” the letter continued, “of the Guwahati High Court giving an adverse judgment/order to the review petition, the state government is committed to go in appeal to the Supreme Court, on the basic of the Supreme Court’s judgment dated 14.1.1993 in civil Appeal No.127, 128 & 129 of 1993 in YS Kothari Vrs State bank of India & ors”. The state said it has “agreed in principle to fix the maximum length of service for state government employees subject to favorable judgment being given by the learned courts”. Highlighting these “assurances” the government requested the NSF to withdraw the students’ organization’s ongoing agitation over the issue of reviewing the length of service.
