SURESH MALLYA, S/O. LATE K. NAGESH MALLYA AND OTHERS Vs. THE KARNATAKA FOREST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the Learned Counsel for the parties.

(2.) THE Petitioners are employees of the Karnataka Forest Development Corporation (hereinafter referred to as ' the KFDC for brevity) which is a Government company as defined under Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956. The Petitioners were working as First Division Assistants and as Superintendents as on the date of the petition. The private Respondents were said to be Accounts Assistants who were promoted as Superintendents, which orders are sought to be questioned in the present petition.

(3.) IT is the case of the Petitioners that the First Division Assistants consists of Accounts Assistants and First Division Assistants. The posts of Superintendents and First Division Assistants are tinder the Administration Wing whereas the posts of Accounts Assistants are under the Accounts Wing. This is the undisputed stand taken by the KFDC in various proceedings before this Court as evident from Annexures B, Bl and B2. The identity of the posts of Accounts Assistants and First Division Assistants has been retained even after their enlistment of common cadre of First Division Assistants and they are not merged to constitute one single post. With the framing of the C and R Rules, the management, by a Memorandum dated 9.8.1.995 prepared and published their Final Seniority List including the amalgamated cadre of First Division Assistants. The Accounts Assistants were not happy with that circumstance and had sought dismemberment from the common cadre. The management finally conceded the demand and by a resolution dated 23.6.1998 prescribed a higher pay scale to the Accounts Assistants from which date the Accounts Assistants ceased to be equals and have been treated as a separate clause for all functional purposes. The management by a Memorandum, dated 20.10.1998, published a separate Draft Gradation List of Accounts Assistants and a Final Seniority List followed on the same lines as per Memorandum dated 30.10.1998. There were no objections to the same not -even from the Accounts Assistants. Thereafter, promotions were also given to the First Division Assistants to the post of Superintendents. Two of the Petitioners were thus promoted and have continued as such and there was no objection from the Accounts Assistants. When that was the position, one Mulimani, who was to retire on 31.12.2004 as the Managing Director of the KFDC, is said to have issued an Office Order dated 7.10.2004 withdrawing the Gradation. List of October 1998 and thereby revived the Common Seniority List of both the First Division Assistants and the Accounts Assistants that was finalised in the year 1995, on the ground that the Board Resolution did not stand the test of legal scrutiny. Thereafter, yet another order was issued granting promotion to the contesting Respondents with retrospective effect from 31.10.1998. Some of the Petitioners herein had filed writ petitions in WP 46236 -240/2004, challenging those orders. The contesting Respondents had entered caveat. this Court had, in the first instance, granted an interim order dated 1.12.2004, staying the impugned orders. Thereafter, final orders were passed on 10.11.2005 quashing the impugned orders and remitting the matter to the Board for a fresh consideration.