SUDHIR KUMAR ATREY Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEADED by the Engineer-in-Chief, since its inception, the Military Engineering Service, for administrative purposes was bifurcated into five commands being, the Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern and the Central command with an officer of the rank of Chief Engineer being the administrative head and thus the controller of each command. Their existed a separate cadre of Superintendents for buildings and roads and a separate cadre for electrical and mechanical equipments having the posts Superintendent (B/R) Grade II and Grade I as also Superintendent (E/M) Grade II and Grade I. These posts were governed by the Military Engineering Service (Non-Industrial Class III & IV posts) Rules, 1971.

(2.) FOR reasons unknown, in the year 1983, a separate cadre of Surveyor Assistants in Grade II and Grade I was created to make appointments of persons with engineering background pertaining to the works of buildings and roads and thus with effect from the year 1983 their came into existence a separate cadre of Surveyors Assistant Grade II and Grade I; the cadre of Superintendent (B/R) Grade II and Grade I being retained. The entry was at Grade II level and the essential educational qualification for both cadres was a degree in Civil Engineering. Likewise there existed a separate cadre of Superintendent (E/M) Grade II and Grade I.

(3.) IT is in the aforesaid backdrop that we need to transpose ourselves to the year 1983, for the reason the origin of the dispute in W.P.(C) No.4394/2008, W.P.(C) No.5915/2008 and W.P.(C) No.6237/2012 takes us back to the said year.