T DHANRAJU Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenging the impugned Letter No.17689/H2/2007-6 dated 24.03.2008 passed by the 1st respondent, the petitioner has come forward with the present writ petition and also for a direction to promote the petitioner as District Registrar from the date his junior, reserved candidate was promoted, with all consequential benefits.

(2.) The case of the petitioner, in brief, is as follows: The petitioner joined the Registration Department as Junior Assistant on 01.03.1974 and thereafter, he was promoted as Assistant. The next higher post is Sub-Registrar Grade-II, which is being filled up by both direct recruitment as well as by recruitment by transfer. The then existing Special Rules for Tamil Nadu Registration Subordinate Service, prescribed eight years of service including two years as Assistant, as one of the qualifications for consideration for appointment as Sub-Registrar, Grade-II by recruitment by transfer. The petitioner had completed two years of service as Assistant on 18.07.1979 and completed 8 years of total service on 28.02.1982.

(3.) According to the petitioner, he was eligible to be empanelled for promotion to the post of Sub-Registrar, Grade-II for the year 1982-83 itself. Subsequently, while effecting the promotion to the post of Sub-Registrar, Grade-II, the seniority in the grade of Assistant was taken into consideration by the authorities and not in the grade of Junior Assistant. This led to a situation where a person who had entered service much earlier as Junior Assistant was not considered inasmuch as his date of promotion as Assistant was much later. In these circumstances, a similarly situated person filed O.A.No.392 of 1989 before the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal, seeking a direction for inclusion of his name in the list of Sub-Registrars Grade-II prepared for the year 1975-83 on the basis of his seniority in the post of Junior Assistant, wherein the Tribunal, by its order dated 27.08.1993, directed the respondents to consider persons for promotion on the basis of combined seniority of Junior Assistants and other eligible categories. Against the said order, an SLP was filed by the Government and the same was dismissed and consequently, the order in the said O.A.was implemented vide G.O.Ms.No.350 dated 31.10.1994. Following the same, various original applications were filed by the similarly situated persons, who were not considered on the basis of their seniority in the post of Assistant, before the Tribunal and the same were allowed, by relying upon the earlier order passed in O.A.No.392 of 1989 and the writ petitions filed against the same were dismissed by this Court.