GOPALA PILLAI Vs. SUPERINTENDENT POST OFFICES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is at present working as a Higher Grade Postman, seeks to avoid his exclusion from P4 list of excess qualified departmental candidates for promotion to the posts of T/S Clerks/Sorters in the Posts and Telegraphs Department.

(2.) The petitioner seems to be an enterprising member of the Scheduled Caste, who was originally appointed as an Extra Departmental Delivery Agent on 10th August, 1959, was selected and promoted as Postman on 3rd October, 1967, in which post he acquired quasi permanency with effect from 3rd October, 1970, was confirmed on 1st March, 1973 and was thereafter promoted as Higher Grade Postman with effect from 1st June, 1974. He appeared for the departmental examination for promotion from lower grade to the cadre of T/S Clerks/RMS Sorters conducted on 28th October, 1979 and secured 109 marks. This examination was conducted division wise, and in Idukki Division, he was included in the list of excess qualified departmental candidates as No. 4 as is evident from Ext. P-4.

(3.) The appointment to the post of T/S Clerks and RMS Sorters is governed by Ext. R-3 rules framed under Art.309 of the Constitution of India, according to which, 50 per cent of the vacancies is to be filled up by direct recruitment and the remaining 50 per cent by promotion through a test. The rules also provide that permanent or quasi permanent officials below the time-scale clerical and sorters grade in accordance with the orders issued by the Posts and Telegraphs Board from time to time constitute the grades from which promotion has to be made. Admittedly, the petitioner belongs to a category from which promotions are to be made according to Ext. R-3 rules. Ext. R-4 departmental communication provides, that if there are candidates who qualify in the prescribed test for promotion to the clerical and allied cadres in excess of the vacancies available in the unit, such excess qualified officials who are not approved for their own unit on the basis of the competitive examination may be offered promotion in the neighbouring units of the same branch of service for which they are treated as departmental candidates, provided that qualified departmental candidates in those units are not enough to fill up the vacancies during the particular year of recruitment. Along with other conditions limiting the eligibility for diversion of qualified surplus candidates of one unit for appointment in another unit, Ext. R-4 also provides that "before these surplus qualified candidates are diverted to other units, written declaration will be obtained from them embodying the above mentioned terms". Whereas promotions to T/S Clerks/RMS Sorters have to be made from an approved list prepared on the basis of a competitive examination to the existing vacancies in a particular unit during a particular year of recruitment, the claim of surplus qualified candidate in any one unit for promotion in another unit are governed by the provisions contained in an executive order and is subject to restrictions contained in Ext. R-4. According to these conditions, it appears as if such a surplus candidate has no tangible right until after a written declaration in terms of Ext. R-4 is sought by the department and furnished by the candidate.