C CHANDRASEKAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has approached this Court seeking the following reliefs: to issue a writ of mamus forbearing the respondents from underoperating the vacant posts of Assistant Engineers (Civil) Class II as Junior Engineer (Civil) Grade I, earmarked for departmental promotion, till the petitioner is promoted to the post of Assistant Engineers (Civil) Class II which has been earmarked for departmental promotion consequently, direct the respondents to give such promotion to the petitioner by putting him in the appropriate place of the inter se/combined seniority list as may be prepared on a direction of this Court by reckoning the petitioner's original seniority in the feeder category of Junior Engineer (Civil) Grade I.

(2.) The case of the petitioner is that he was the employee of the Madras Dock Labour Board from 1998. By Scheme of Merger, the Madras Dock Labour Board came to be merged with Chennai Port Trust in 2001. By the Scheme of Merger dated 25.05.2001, the employees of the Madras Dock Labour Board came to be absorbed in Chennai Port Trust and became employees in the Chennai Port Trust thereafter. The petitioner, who was originally working as Supervisor Grade II was absorbed and redesignated as Junior Engineer (Civil), after merger. He was also promoted to the post of Junior Engineer (Civil) Grade I in 2006.

(3.) According to the petitioner, there was a memorandum of settlement between the management of Chennai Port Trust and the various Trade Unions dated 10.01.2014 under Section 18(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. As per the settlement, it was agreed by the management to prepare a combined inter se seniority for integrated workers, employees, staff and officers between the employees who were inducted from erstwhile Madras Dock Labour Board and the existing employees of the Chennai Port Trust. However, according to the petitioner, though the original scheme of merger contemplated combined seniority of all the workers/employees/officers/staff so far, the Port Trust has not initiated any action for framing of combined seniority of the workers/employees/officers/staff. With the result, the Port Trust has been maintaining a separate roster as between the erstwhile employees of the Madras Dock Labour Board and the existing employees of the Chennai Port Trust separately and operating the roster for further appointments and promotion in the existing cadre.