SMT. K.G. VALSALAKUMARI AMMA, ASST. TAMIL NADU CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION LTD., NAGERCOIL Vs. THE SENIOR REGIONAL MANAGER, TAMIL NADU CIVIL SUPPLIES CORPORATION LTD. NAGERCOIL,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed for issue of writ of Certiorarified Mandamus.

(2.) The petitioner has joined duty as Junior Assistant on 21.8.1975 in the Nagercoil Region. She was qualified for promotion as Assistant on 21.8.1979 on completion of four years as Junior Assistant in accordance with the rules. She has passed Account Test for Subordinate Officers Part -I etc., She was promoted as Assistant during 1986. Mean while, 22 juniors were promoted as Assistants during 1982 and they were elevated to the post of Superintendent in the year 1985. The petitioner has made several representations. Since no reply was received, the petitioner approached this court by filing W.P.No. 17895 of 1992 and this Court ordered the respondent to consider the representation and pass orders on merits and in accordance with law, within a period of two months. Thereafter, the impugned order has been passed. The claim of the petitioner for promotion as Assistant in 1982 and as Superintendent in 1985 has been rejected on various reasons. According to the Service Rules 1976, promotion to the post of Superintendent requires five years of service as Assistant and promotion to the post of Assistant requires four years service as Junior Assistant. The petitioner was appointed as Junior Assistant directly in the year 1975. There was also another category which is known as Bill Clerks/Cashiers According to the Service Rules, it requires two years of service as Bill Clerks for promotion to the post of Junior Assistants. By Board proceedings dated 9.8.1978 an executive order was passed whereby the service put in as Bill clerks has to be considered as service as Junior Assistants and they will be eligible to be promoted as Assistants on completion of two further years as Junior Assistants. Subsequently, the second respondent withdrew the above order dated 25.6.1982. In the Board Proceedings dated 6.1.1984 whereby it has been specifically instructed not to act upon the instructions contained in the letter dated 25.6.1982.

(3.) These circulars are only executive instructions and they have no statutory force since no amendments have been issued to the service rules. By proceedings No. B1/4975/78 -1 dated 9.12.1978 the seniority list was published. But, the seniority list was subsequently revised based on the instructions contained in the above proceedings dated 25.6.1987 and the petitioner was assigned seniority No.26. Though originally she was assigned seniority as Sl.No.21 subsequently another seniority list was published on 1.4.1985 based on the Head Office reference dated 6.1.84 cancelling the second seniority list in which the petitioner was assigned No.7. It was the correct seniority as on 1.4.85 as per the service rules. The petitioner was eligible for promotion. She has also passed the relevant tests, but she was not promoted till 1986 whereas the juniors originally working in the feeder category namely Bill clerks and had joined later than the petitioner were promoted as Assistants during August 1982 and as Superintendents in January 1987. Therefore, the present writ petition has been filed to quash the order rejecting the representations made by the petitioner that she must be promoted in the year 1982 as Assistant and from the 1985 as Superintendent.