P K THAPAR Vs. DELHI ELECTRIC SUPPLY UNDERTAKING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been filed by the promotee officers of Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking (for short DESU) impugning the provisional seniority list dated April 24, 1992, which has subsequently been confirmed and finalised by the Seniority list dated April 27, 1993, and continuation of the same on May 14, 1993. The challenge has been based on the interpretation of the Regulations made by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under Section 98 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, (hereinafter referred to as "1968 Regulations"). The said Regulations are known as " Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking (D.M.C.) (Seniority) Regulations, 1968, which fixes the basis of the relative seniority of direct recuits and promotees, as well as, the principle of rotation of vacancies vide clause 7 of the Regulations.

(2.) The petitioners also amended the writ petition by moving an application C.M.No. 4966 of 1993) for urging certain additional grounds in support of their challenge to the final seniority list of Assistant Engineers. The challenge to the seniority rules was also made on the ground that the said rules became in-applicable to the present case, as the quota had collapsed, but in the alternative the said seniority rules, to the extent of applicability to the case of the petitioners, became liable to be held as ultra vires, unconstitutional, arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The abovesaid application for additional grounds was allowed by an order of this Court dated September 21,1993, as the counsel for the respondents did not object to the application being allowed.

(3.) The petitioners were initially appointed as Operators in the DESU. They were directly recruited as Assistant Controllers on the basis of their selection in open competition and were promoted as Controllers on the basis of their further selection through a duly constituted Departmental Promotion Committee on different dates. The petitioners were then promoted as Assistant Engineers on adhoc basis and were subsequently regularised with effect from September 8,1981 vide office orders dated September 8,1981, June 21, 1982 and November 17, 1984 respectively. The petitioners were recruited within 13% of promotion quota from the post of Controllers.