SHANKAR PANDURANG JADHAV THOPPIL RAMAKRISHNAN Vs. VICE ADMIRAL FLAG OFFICER COMMANDING IN CHIEF:UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special Leave granted.

(2.) The appellants and the writ petitioners are presently serving in the Time Keeping Department of the Naval Dockyard, Bombay, which is under the administrative control of the Vice-Admiral. Flag Officer, Commanding-in-Chief. Western Naval Command, Bombay. In the said department there are several posts of Junior Time Keepers and only two posts of Senior Time Keepers. Since the promotional posts were limited in number there was stagnation at the base level of Junior Time Keepers. With a view to removing this stagnation, the cadre of Time Keepers was sought to be amalgamated with the clerical cadre in the same department. On 14th September, 1966, the Under Secretary to the Government of India. Ministry of Defence, wrote a letter to the Chief of Naval Staff on the subject of amalgamation of the Time Keepers cadre with the clerical cadre. The text of the letter reads as under :

(3.) Both the above judgments were mainly based on the language of the letter of 5th December, 1966. Realising the difficulty created by the said letter. the Flag Officer, Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Bombay, cancelled the said letter by his communication dated 27th August, 1984. This subsequent communication reads as under :