M MOUTTOUCANNOU Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AGGRIEVED by the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Madras Bench dated 29. 09. 2000 made in O. A. No. 565 of 1997, rejecting their request to grant regular promotion as Senior Inspectors with effect from December, 1990 with all attendant benefits and further promotion as Co-operative Officers as per the Rules with due seniority over respondents 3 to 20, the petitioners numbering 16 have preferred the above writ petition.

(2.) THE brief facts are as follows:

(3.) THE Cooperative Department filed a reply statement stating that the petitioners could not be treated as regularly appointed Juniors Inspectors though their appointment was made as per the Rules, because they were in excess to the sanctioned posts. According to the Department, regular vacancies of Junior Inspectors became available only in the year 1990, when six of them were regularised in service with effect from 10. 03. 1990. Considering their grievance, the Government created 10 deputation reserve posts in the cadre of Junior Inspectors vide Government Order dated 01. 11. 1990, pursuant to which the rest of the petitioners were regularised in service with effect from 01. 11. 1990. Since the petitioners did not possess five years of service as regular Junior Inspectors, their promotion as Senior Inspectors in 1990 could only be treated as ad hoc and hence, the petitioners were rightly appointed as Senior Inspectors from 1995. Further, in the year 1990, there were only 46 vacancies of Senior Inspectors to which, if the ratio of 1:3 was applied, 12 had to be filled up by direct recruitment and 34 by promotion. However, for want of Junior Inspectors, 18 posts were filled up by direct recruitment and the remaining were filled up by promotion.