SURESH CHANDRA AGARWAL Vs. RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner seeks quashing of the appointment of respondents 2 and 3 to the post of Under Secretary and for a direction to respondent No. 1 to consider the petitioner for promotion to the post of Under Secretary.

(2.) The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat (for short 'the Secretariat') on 30th March, 1973 and was confirmed on the said post w.e.f. 13th December, 1976. He was placed below Mr.Tapan Das Gupta and Mr.Hukum Singh, who were at serial Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in the Gradation list of the Secretariat notified on 1st February, 1972. Mr.Hukum Singh retired from service in July, 1974. Resultantly, the petitioner was placed below Mr.Tapan Das Gupta. Pursuant to the recommendations of the First Parliamentary Pay Committee, the Secretariat was re-organised on functional basis w.e.f. 1st December, 1974 and three services, namely (i) Legislative service, (ii) Executive and Administrative Service, and (iii) Printing, Publication and Distribution service were created. These services were treated as separate entities for the purpose of promotion, recruitment and seniority. All the personnel borne on the strength of the Secretariat, as on 1st December, 1974 were allocated to different services according to the nature of work handled by them. Upon re-organisation of the Secretariat, the petitioner was placed in the Executive and Administrative Wing. Out of 60 posts of Assistants, 41 posts including five Committee Assistants were upgraded as Legislative Committee Assistants/Executive Assistants. On 17th April, 1978, the petitioner was promoted to the grade of Senior Assistant on completion of five years of service as Assistant. In 1976, a competitive examination limited to the staff of the Secretariat, was held to fill up posts of Senior Assistants in the legislative wing. Respondents 2 to 6, who were declared successful in the said examination, were appointed as Senior Assistants w.e.f. March 1977. The aforesaid re-organisation of the Secretariat did not last long and by the order dated 13th June, 1980 of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the three services created earlier were merged into a single united service to be known as the Legislative, Executive and Administrative service. On 13th April, 1984 the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha issued a circular directing that in future confirmations and promotions in the said service will be made on the basis of seniority of officers as it obtained before the division of the Secretariat on 1st December, 1974, subject to such necessary changes due to service wise confirmations, which shall be taken into account irrespective of any promotions made in the three distinctive services between 1st December, 1974 and the actual date of merger, i.e. 10th June, 1980.

(3.) The petitioner's main grievance is that his seniority had not been fixed in accordance with the aforesaid circular dated 13th April, 1984 and respondents 2 to 6, who were junior to him, had been placed above him in the seniority list. Being aggrieved by the wrong fixation of his seniority, the petitioner submitted a representation to the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha, which was rejected vide orders dated 30th November, 1992. According to the petitioner, the respondent No. 1 had unjustifiably superseded him and promoted the respondents 2 and 3 to the posts of under Secretary and thus their promotions are liable to be quashed.