H A RAMANUJA Vs. STATE OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Out of the petitioners in these 29 cases, N. V. Munirathnaiah Setty petitioner in WP. No. 4104 of 1968 and B. Sannahanumaiah-petitioner in WP.No. 1271 of 1969 are reported to have died. As the reliefs claimed are purely personal to the petitioners, these writ petitions do not survive. Both of them are, therefore, dismissed.

(2.) The points for consideration in the rest of the petitions are same. Although many documents and orders and instructions of the State Government issued from time to time have been produced, the actual controversy for consideration and determination falls within a small compass.

(3.) The petitioners were all First Division Clerks working in the State Accounts Department of the erstwhile State of Mysore and became allotted as such to the new State of Mysore. They complain that their juniors according to the final inter-State seniority list of the non-gazetted officers of the State Accounts Department published in April, 1968 were promoted to the next higher post of Accounts Superintendent before they themselves were promoted and without their cases for promotion having been considered. It is also stated that the reason for such non-consideration was that the petitioners had not passed at the relevant period two departmental tests said to have been prescribed as necessary for earning eligibility, viz., accounts higher and subordinate accounts service examination (SAS. examination) . According to the petitioners, if seniority is taken into account, their cases for promotion with reference to the availability of vacancies to be filled by promotion were due for consideration before the 30th of August, 1963 (the importance of this date will be apparent later) . They further contend that during the period from 1st November, 1956 to 30th August, 1963, the passing of the tests mentioned above could not have been lawfully insisted upon before considering the cases of first division clerks for promotion as Accounts Superintendents.