UOI Vs. P R CHANDRASEKHARAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRADEEP NANDRAJOG, J. The litigating parties are directly appointed officers in the 50% quota allocable to posts in Grade VI Group A Service under the Customs and Excise Department of the Government of India. The inter-se battle being fought by them pertains to promotions to the post of Deputy Collector now renamed as Joint Commissioner. For a better understanding, the cadre structure of posts in Group A of the ,,Indian Customs & Central Excise Group A Services may be noted in a tabular form. The same is as under:- WP(C) No.1762/08, 1824/08, 4718/08 & 7419/08 Page 2 of 24 Grade Previous nomenclature Present nomenclature Grade VI Assistant Collector Assistant Commissioner (Junior Time Scale) Grade V Assistant Collector Deputy Commissioner (Senior Time Scale) Grade IV Deputy Collector Joint Commissioner (Junior Administrative Scale) Grade III Additional Collector Additional Commissioner (Non-functional of Customs & Central Selection Grade of Excise Junior Administrative Grade) Grade II Collector Commissioner of Customs (Senior Administrative & Central Excise Grade) Grade I Principal Collector Chief Commissioner of Customs & Central Excise

(2.) IT may be noted that appointment within Group A Services is 100% by promotion and to the lowest post in Group A i.e. the post of Assistant Collector now redesignated as Assistant Commissioner the method of appointment is 50% by promotion and 50% by direct recruitment. Senior-most officers in Group B are eligible for promotion as Assistant Commissioner and Superintendents of Central Excise Group B, Superintendents of Customs Group B and Customs Appraisers Group B from the feeder channel.

(3.) THE challenge before the Tribunal was to an order dated 3.5.2002 as also an order dated 17.10.2002; the first being a Presidential Order pertaining to ,,Indian Customs & Central Excise Service officers who were officiating on ad-hoc basis as Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise (Junior Administrative Grade) notifying that they stood regularly appointed as Joint Commissioners on regular basis with effect from the date of commencement of the panel year; the second being an order rejecting the representation of Shri.P.R.Chandrasekharan regarding seniority in the grade of Joint Commissioner as notified in the order dated 03.05.2002.