K SELVAM Vs. DISTRICT COLLECTOR ERODE DISTRICT ERODE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE writ petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ of certiorarified mandamus to call for the records relating to the order of the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal at Chennai passed in O. A. No. 1405 of 2001 dated 22. 02. 2002 and quash the same and further direct the 1st respondent to restore the seniority of the petitioners in the cadre of the Assistant as per the order of the 1st respondent dated 27. 11. 2000 issued in Na. Ka. No. 131113/97/paa2.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are as follows:- Respondents 2 to 20 were originally working in the cadre of Extension Officer/manger, Assistant/rural Welfare Officer Grade I in the Rural Development Department at Erode District. The writ petitioners were originally working in the cadre of Assistant. After the introduction of Single Service Rule, the persons working under the Ministerial services were integrated with the persons working in the Gramasevak service and seniority list was published as on 1/6/1979 based on the guidelines issued by the Government. In implementation of the single service rule, the writ petitioners were reverted from the post of Assistant to the post of Junior Assistant inasmuch as all of them were promoted temporarily after 01. 06. 1979 as Assistants and as per the feeder category seniority list, they were not eligible to continue in the cadre of Assistant for want of vacancy. During 1990, the individuals who are erstwhile Gramasevak servants filed O. A. No. 1900 of 1990 apprehending reversion for want of test qualification which was newly prescribed viz. , to the erstwhile Gramasevak servants. Both the writ petitioners and respondents 2 to 20 were erstwhile ministerial servants for whom test was prescribed for promotion even prior to the introduction of single service rules. In O. A. No. 1900 of 1990, the writ petitioners were figured as Respondents 2 to 12, who were impleaded themselves as party respondents. The Tribunal, on 17. 05. 1991, while disposing of the said original application has passed an order holding that Grama Sevaks and other Rural Welfare Officers who acquired the test qualification prior to 11. 05. 1990 need not be reverted and it was further held that promotion given to Grama Sevak etc. prior to 12. 04. 1984 need not be disturbed. The matter went to the Hon'ble Supreme Court in C. A. No. 63-93/94, which extended the time limit to acquire test qualification for Grama Sevak categories till 04. 05. 1994. By virtue of the order passed by the Tribunal and the Hon'ble Supreme Court, Grama Sevak and others who were not qualified, got an opportunity to continue in the promoted posts, till they pass the test qualification on or before 04. 05. 1994. Accordingly, the first respondent refixed the seniority. Against the above said refixation of seniority, a representation was sent by the respondents/applicants on 27. 12. 2000 to restore their seniority and it was not considered. Hence they approached the Tribunal by filing O. A. No. 1405 of 2001.

(3.) IN the counter affidavit filed in the above original application, it is stated that in G. O. Ms. No. 376, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, dated 15. 03. 1978, the Government constituted an official committee, comprising of the Secretary, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, the Director of Rural Development and Deputy Secretary to Government (Personnel) Rural Development and Local Administration Department for framing Single Service Rules for all the posts in Panchayat Development Department. In G. O. Ms. No. 868, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, dated 30. 05. 1979, the Government ordered that pending formulation of Single Service Rules, all appointments made from 01. 06. 1979 to till the issue of Single Service Rules are purely temporary. Accordingly rules were framed by G. O. Ms. Nos. 585,586, 587, 588 and 349, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, dated 12. 04. 1984. As per the Single Service Rules, the Ministerial Service and Grama Sevak Service were merged for single ladder promotion. The Grama Sevak Association as well as the individuals of the Grama Sevak Service filed petitions against the Single Service Rules at High Court, Chennai, which were dismissed by the High Court on 28. 10. 2006. Thereafter action was initiated to implement the above said rules. As per G. O. Ms. No. 325, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, dated 26. 04. 1985, the Government has given 3 years period to pass the departmental test to the Grams Sevak Service personnel from 12. 04. 1984 to 11. 04. 1987 and informed that during the concession period, they are entitled for promotion. It is further stated that the writ petitioners who are respondents 2 to 12 in the original application were promoted as Assistants in the year 1985 and 1986 and they were all fully qualified to hold the post at the time of promotion. But by the order of the District Collector, in order to implement Single Service Rules in Erode District, 59 qualified Assistants were reverted as Junior Assistants and 59 unqualified Grama Sevake Grade II were promoted as Assistants/rural Welfare Officers Grade I as per the inter-se-seniority list with a condition to pass the Departmental test as per the instructions stipulated in G. O. Ms. No. 325, Rural Development and Local Administration Department, dated 26/4/1985. But the writ petitioners who are qualified to hold the post of Assistants (Ministerial Service Personnel) were reverted on the ground that they were not promoted as per the integrated seniority. It is further stated that the period of 3 years to pass the test qualification was also extended upto 11/5/1990 to the Grama Sevak Personnel. Out of 59 persons Grama Sevak even though not qualified were promoted and 22 Personnel have not passed the Departmental test by 11/5/1990 were reverted to the post of Junior Assistants cadre. Against that, O. A. Nos. 1900 and 1904 of 1990 were filed before the Tamilnadu Administrative Tribunal and the Tribunal passed an order and the matter went upto Supreme Court, which extended the time to pass the test qualification upto 1994. In the meanwhile, as per G. O. (3d) No. 41, Rural Development (E4) Department, dated 23/10/1996, and as per the letter of the Government dated 14/10/1992 and 11/3/1993, the seniority list of Assistant/rural Welfare Officer Grade I for the period from 1/6/1979 to 1989 has been issued by the District Collector, Erode through his proceedings dated 10/12/1996 and after considering the request of the writ petitioners, their seniority has been fixed in the year 1986 in the above list according to the Single Service Rules and instructions of the Government as per District Collector Proceedings dated 27/11/2000, which is impugned in the present Writ petition.