PAWAN KUMAR TOMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitiners are Section Officers in Horticulture Wing of CPWD. They want Respondents to refer some ten ten posts of Assistant Director (Horticulture) in direct recruitment quota to UPSC for being filled up. They approached Tribunal to this, but their plea was all along rejected. Hence this petition. L/C for petitioner Mr.Pattjoshi was heard on last date but he did not appear today to support his contentions. We all the same deemed it proper to deal with the matter to end the controversy for good.

(2.) It all seems to have started way back in 1995 when Section Officers Association filed OA 1388/93 and asked for withholding direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Director on the basis of unamended rules then. Respondents. conceaded this when their counsel made a statement that the post would not be filled up under those rules. This OA was accordingly disposed of by order dated 11.11.96 and consequently posts have remained unfilled ever since.

(3.) Petitioners followed it up by filling OA 341/98 asking for filling up of the available posts in direct recruitment quota. Their OA was, however, dismissed by order dated 12/2/98 by tribunal on the ground that they had no right to ask for this and that they only enjoyed a right of consideration after the posts would be notified. They thereafter filed CWP 1020/98 before this court which was disposed of by order dated 29/9/99 asking them to approach the tribunal again for the purpose. They then filed second OA 2281/99 and again asked for reference of available posts to UPSC for being filled up. This was opposed by respondents on the ground that they were committed to fill up the posts under the amended rules which were likely to take some time. Tribunal accordingly dismissed their OA again holding that prayed for direction to fill up available posts by direct recruitment could not be given to Respondents at the instance of petitioners. Hence this petition. We were informed that respondents had amended the rules prescribing a ratio of 1(DR):10(Promotion) for filling up of the post on this basis had alloted two posts for direct recruitment quota which were referred to UPSC for selection/appointment. This should have clinched the issue but for petitioners shying away from facing the reality.