STATE OF MYSORE Vs. G N PUROHIT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave against the judgment of the Mysore High court and arises in the following circumstances. The respondents who are working as Senior Health Inspectors in the State of Mysore filed a writ petition in the High court praying that a notification dated 2/04/1963 by which a seniority list of sanitary Sub-Inspectors and Sanitary Inspectors serving in the department of Public Health was issued calling for objections should be quashed. The respondents were originally serving in the State of Bombay but on reorganisation of Stales from 1/11/1956 they were allotted to the State of Mysore. It appears that after november. 1956 a provisional seniority list of Sanitray Sub-Inspectors and Inspectors was published in 1958 by the Director of Public health. By that notification objections were called for to the seniority list on grounds connected with the establishment of equivalence of posts or other matters relating to Slates reorganisation. This seniority list, though it related to the entire State, was, however, prepared district wise as till then the cadre of these officials was district-wise and rot State-wise. It is said that in pursuance of this notification of February 1958 objections were filed but nothing further happened thereafter. It appears that when the seniority list was published in February, 1958 some officials objected that it should be on a state-wise basis and not on a district-wise basis. But this objection was turned down in March, 1958. It is said that this seniority list of 1958 continued in operation till February, 1962 even though it was not finalised as required under the States Reorganisation act, No. 39 of 1956, (hereinafter referred to as the act) , and promotions used to be made district-wise in accordance therewith.

(2.) In October, 1961, however, it is said that government decided to change the district-wise system for these officials prevalent till then. and substitute therefor a Mate-wise system. This change was made after the government decided to take out class III posts from the purview of the Public Service Commission. Thereafter a government Order was issued in January, 1962 by which Class III posts were divided into three cadres, namely, (i) state-wise, (ii) division wise, and (iii) district-wise and different methods of recruitment through what wire called state-level recruitment committees and divisional-level recruitment committee were to prevail for recruitment of state-wise and division-wise pasts. The order also said that all class iv posts would normally be treated as district-wise. The annexure to the order shows that Senior and Junior Health Inspectors of the public Health Department were put in the cadre of State-wise' system and their recruitment was to be made by State-level recruitment committees.

(3.) After this decision the Director of Public Health was informed by government that his proposal to prepare seniority lists of Senior and junior Health Inspectors and others on State-wise basis instead of region wise basis was approved. Thereafter the Director took steps to prepare a State-wise seniority list of all Senior and Junior Health Inspectors in spite of the protest of the respondents. Eventually the old provisional seniority list of 1958 relating to these officials which had been prepared on district-wise basis was apparently scrapped and in its place a new seniority list was published on 2/04/1963. This was on State-wise basis and necessary objections were invited to this list in the context of the Act before its finalisation as required thereunder. Then, followed the writ petition out of which the present appeal has arisen, praying for quashing the new provisional seniority list prepared on States wise system.