Statutory appointment power prevails over policy directions, and an expired panel creates no continuing right to recruitment.

State Government directions under section 78-A of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 were effective only if they related to policy; they could not compel the Board to make straight appointments, because the Board retained the statutory power of appointment under section 15. An expired selection panel created no continuing right to appointment, and the undertaking given by the candidates as Operators did not permanently bar future consideration. Under Rule 7 of the 1982 Cadre Rules, the candidates were entitled only to consideration for appointment in accordance with the recruitment scheme and vacancy position, not automatic absorption.

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Issues: (i) Whether the State Government's directions issued under section 78-A of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 could compel the Board to appoint the appellants as Junior Electrical Engineers. (ii) Whether the appellants were barred from consideration for future vacancies because the selection panel had expired and they had given an undertaking when appointed as Operators, and how Rule 7 of the Bihar State Electricity Board Junior Electrical Engineer (General) Cadre Rules, 1982 governed such appointments.

Issue (i): Whether the State Government's directions issued under section 78-A of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 could compel the Board to appoint the appellants as Junior Electrical Engineers.

Analysis: Section 78-A authorises the State Government to give directions only on questions of policy. Appointment of staff, however, is governed by section 15, which vests the power to appoint officers and employees in the Board, subject only to approval of the Secretary's appointment. The communications directing straight appointment of named persons did not relate to policy. They amounted to interference with the Board's autonomous appointment power and could not bind the Board.

Conclusion: The State Government's directions were not binding policy directions and could not compel straight appointment of the appellants.

Issue (ii): Whether the appellants were barred from consideration for future vacancies because the selection panel had expired and they had given an undertaking when appointed as Operators, and how Rule 7 of the Bihar State Electricity Board Junior Electrical Engineer (General) Cadre Rules, 1982 governed such appointments.

Analysis: The panel prepared in 1984 had a life of one year and no enforceable right survived after its expiry. The undertaking given at the time of appointment as Operators did not permanently estop the appellants from being considered for future vacancies. Under Rule 7, appointments to the post of Junior Electrical Engineer were to be made partly by direct recruitment from diploma holders and partly by absorption of Board employees through a Selection Committee. The appellants, therefore, could not claim automatic absorption, but they were entitled to be considered in accordance with the rule and the vacancy position. The Court also directed a fresh advertisement for vacancies up to 31 March 1992 and removed age disqualification for those included in the 1984 panel.

Conclusion: The expired panel did not confer a continuing right, and the undertaking did not bar future consideration; the appellants were entitled only to consideration under Rule 7 and the Court's directions for fresh recruitment.

Final Conclusion: The appeals did not result in straight absorption of the appellants, but the Board was required to give them a fair opportunity for consideration under the governing recruitment rule, with the Court issuing consequential directions to regulate the filling up of vacancies.

Ratio Decidendi: Directions under section 78-A of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948 are binding only when they concern questions of policy, and they cannot be used to override the Board's statutory power of appointment under section 15; an expired selection panel does not create a continuing right to appointment, though candidates may still be considered under the applicable recruitment rules.

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