KSHETRA PATI PATNI S/O SRI N D PATNI, PRESENTLY SERVING AS UNDER SECRETARY, LAW DEPARTMENT AND MADAN MOHAN SEMWAL S/O LATE SRI GOPAL DUTT SEMWAL PRESENTLY SERVING AS UNDER SECRETARY, ENERGY DEPARTMENT Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND THROUGH ITS SECRETARY, SECRETARIAT ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT AND SRI GOKULANAND LOHANI S/O LATE SRI R D LOHANI PRESENTLY SERVING AS DEPUTY SECRETARY, CHIEF MINISTERS SECRETARIAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Respondent No. 2 has not yet been noticed. It is the contention in the writ petition that a seniority list was prepared in 2006, which contained the name of Respondent No. 2 as the first person in the seniority list. It is contended that the said seniority list has since been revised. In the revised seniority list, Petitioners respectively are occupying first and the second place. It is contended that Respondent No. 2, on the basis of the erroneous seniority list prepared in 2006, was promoted to the post of Deputy Secretary. It is being contended that since now it has been declared that Respondent No. 2 was junior to the Petitioners in seniority and since the promotional criteria is seniority subject to rejection on the ground of unfit, Petitioners should also be given promotion to the posts of Deputy Secretary with effect from the date their junior was promoted. The fact remains that the Departmental Promotion Committee has not yet found that the Petitioners are fit to be promoted. In those circumstances, keeping in view the fact that the posts of Deputy Secretary are available which can be supplied by promotion, we direct the State Government to take steps to fill up those posts and while doing so to take into account all those persons, who are entitled to be brought within the zone of consideration. After selection, we hope and expect that the State will give the persons the benefit of the promotion in terms of the directions issued by the Government in that regard including grant of notional promotion from an earlier date.

(2.) This disposes of the writ petition.