NITINKUMAR VAJUBHAI GAJERA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of these petitions, common challenge is made to the vires of Rule 2(A)(a)(ii) as well as Rule 2(A)(a)(iii) of the Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpasar Department Recruitment Rules, 2016, which has been published through the notification dtd. 8/6/2016. There is a further challenge to the legality and validity of promotion to the post of Deputy Executive Engineer (Civil) Class-II in the Gujarat Engineering Services under the Roads and Building Department Recruitment Rules, 2017, being Rule 2(a)(i) and 2(a)(ii), published by the notification dtd. 14/7/2017, being discriminatory and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, by treating the 'unequals' as 'equals' for the promotion to the post of Deputy Executive Engineer.

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that the Assistant Engineers who are having Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree and who have been selected after following the due procedure by the Gujarat Public Service Commission (GPSC) and who have no pecuniary limit for carrying out any civil work, are being considered for promotion along with the Additional Assistant Engineers who are Diploma Engineers and have pecuniary jurisdiction to carry out civil works, amounting upto Rs.10.00 lacs, having 8 years of experience in the cadre and the Overseers having 13 years of experience in the cadre, who can carryout the civil works upto the pecuniary limit of only Rs.25,000.00.

(3.) That one Special Civil Application No.7593 of 2016 came to be filed in this Hon'ble Court seeking to quash the ratio of 7:4:1 as absolutely irrational and arbitrary, whereby different cadres were considered for promotion. It was contended in the said writ petition that the said ratio required reconsideration as the same had caused injustice to the Assistant Engineers (Civil) Class-II (Gazetted Officer) and due to which, many of the Assistant Engineers had attained superannuation serving in the same cadre. Whereas, the other cadres of the Overseers and Additional Assistant Engineers got undue advantage of higher promotion on the basis of the said ratio. That the said writ petition came to be disposed of. That, thereafter, the State Government published new Rules through the notification dtd. 8/6/2016, wherein the same ratio of 7:4:1 for filling up the posts of Deputy Executive Engineer (Civil) came to be maintained.