B S NEGI Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner No.1 was inducted into the service of the respondents as a Junior Engineer in furtherance of his selection through the Public Service Commission on 23.09.1980. In the same manner, petitioner Nos. 2 and 3 were inducted against the same post by following the same procedure on 05.03.1979 and 23.05.1980 respectively.

(2.) ONWARD promotion from the post of Junior Engineer is to the post of Assistant Engineer. The case of the petitioners before this Court is, that neither any D.P.C. was convened by the authorities, nor any other selection process was held for promotion of Junior Engineers to the rank of Assistant Engineers ever since the induction of the petitioners into the employment of the Rural Engineering Service till 1998. It is pointed out, that in the year 1998 a requisition was made by the Administrative Department to the Public Service Commission for conducting a process of selection keeping in mind the number of vacancies, which had arisen from year to year. In furtherance of the requisition made by the Rural Engineering Service, the Public Service Commission, having conducting the process of selection, made a recommendation for promotion of Junior Engineers to the rank of Assistant Engineers on a year-wise basis. The petitioners, having been found suitable for promotion to the rank of Assistant Engineers, were granted promotion as such by an order dated 15.10.1998. The instant order of promotion was to be operative with immediate effect even though the petitioners had been recommended against vacancies, which had occurred earlier (i.e. during the years 1993-94).

(3.) IT is submitted, that having been promoted to the post of Assistant Engineers, the next benefit, which could be granted to the petitioners, was the release of selection grade. IT is the case of the learned counsel for the petitioners, that an Assistant Engineer becomes eligible for release of selection grade on completion of five years service on a substantive basis. In releasing selection grade, while the petitioners were denied of the aforesaid benefit, it was granted to one Shri Indralal Arya, whose name figures at serial No.12, in the year 2001. The petitioners were released selection grade only in the year 2003. IT is therefore submitted, that the petitioners should also be granted selection grade from the date it was granted to the petitioners juniors as also to Indralal Arya, who was placed below the names of the petitioners in the recommendation made by the Public Service Commission.