D P DAS GUPTA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Admuinistrative Member-The applicant, who is posted as Reference Librarian, Research and Reference Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, New Delhi, has, in this application under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, assailed the order dated 9-1-1990 by which respondent No. 3, a Documentation Officer in the same organisation, has been appointed as Chief Documentation Officer in the same Division in an officiating capacity until further orders and on probation for a period of two years. The applicant has prayed that the aforesaid order as well as the D.PC. proceedings be quathed and the respondenti be directed to promote him to the post of Chief Documentation Officer from the date from which respondent No. 3 had been promoted with all congequential benefits.

(2.) The applicant was appointed ai a Reference Librarian (Class II Gazetted) as a direct recruit through the U.P.S.C. on a regular basis on 8-6-1981, even though he had been selected for the game onl2-l-1981. He could not join earlier as he wag not received by hit previous employer i.e., Department of Statistics, Ministry of Planning. THE applicant's case, in brief, is that he being senior to respondent No. 3 in the feeder grade for pro- motion to the post of Chief Documentation Officer, bad a better claim for the post and respondent No. 3, who has given promotion to the aforesaid post is not eligible in accordance with the recruitment rules for appointment to that post inasmuch as she does not possess cither a Bachelor's Degree HI Library Science or equivalent Diploma in Library Science; the Diploma in Library Science possessed by respondent No. 3 is not equivalent tu the Bachilor's Degree in Library Science.

(3.) The case of the official respondents is that respondent No. 3 had been selected by the D.P.C. and appointed by the competent authority after due consideration of the recruitment rules, qualifications and eligibility etc. of the candidates. It is stated that respondent No. 3 had passed the Diploma examination held by the Board of Technical Education (Delhi Administration in Library Science in 1965 after she had obtained degree ofBA. (Honours course) in the year 1962. This Diploma course being of two years duration, cannot be considered inferior to the one-year Diploma possessed by the applicant. As regards the inter-se seniority, it is stated that the post ol Reference Librarian and Documentation Officer belong to two different cadres, even though they carry the same scale of pay and respondent No. 3 was appointed to the post of Documeatation Officer on regular basis on i 4-5- i98! while the applicant was appointed as Reference Librarian on -6-1981. There is no inter-se seniority between the applicant and respondent 140.3 and the date of confirmation in the respective cadres has no direct bearing in the matter of icniority.