BHAGUBHAI M PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner a Senior Clerk of the District Panchayat, Mahesana is praying for quashing and setting aside the action of the respondents not to consider him eligible for promotion to the post of Taluka Development Officer as being illegal and arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. Another prayer has been made for declaring Rule 2 of the Taluka Development Officer (Gujarat Development Services Class II) Recruitment Rules, 1990 as amended by the Taluka Development Officer (Gujarat Development Services Class II) Recruitment (Amendment) Rules, 1992 as illegal and arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Some other consequential reliefs have also been prayed for.

(2.) The facts of the case, in brief, are that the petitioner was appointed on the post of Junior Clerk in 1970 in the Office of the District Panchayat, Mahesana. In 1985, he was promoted to the post of Sr. Clerk (Sr. Karkoon). The hierarchy, what the petitioner stated in the office of the respondent, is Junior Clerk, Senior Clerk, Aval Karkoon and T.D.O.. As per the Recruitment Rules, 1979, the petitioner was eligible to be considered for promotion to the post of T.D.O after he passed the required departmental examination under the aforesaid rules. The petitioner passed the lower grade examination in the year 1988. He appeared for higher grade examination but he was declared passed only in one paper. It is the case of the petitioner that he was exempted to appear in the papers in which he passed in this examination.

(3.) Vide notification dated 27-9-1990, the Taluka Development Officer, (Gujarat Development Services Class II) Recruitment Rules, 1990 were published and brought into force. It is the grievance of the petitioner that in the Rules, the promotion which was earlier available to the post of Taluka Development Officer from the cadre of Sr. Clerk (Sr. Karkoon) has been taken out. Rules, 1990, the petitioner submits, were amended vide notification dated 7/02/1992 and further proviso is added to Rule 2 in Clause (a) after the second proviso. Under this proviso, the persons who were eligible for promotion to the post of T.D.O. Gujarat Development Services Class II under the superseded Rules and who had passed the departmental examination prescribed for the purpose before 27th September, 1990 were made eligible for being considered for promotion to the post of T.D.O., Gujarat Development Services, Class II under the Rules, 1990 subject to other conditions as specified.