RAGHUNANDAN PRASAD Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a plaintiff's appeal who had been awarded a declaratory decree by the Civil Judge, Malihabad at Lucknow in the following terms:

(2.) The fact of the case so far as they are relevant for the decision of this second appeal are that the plaintiff joined service in the Income Tax Department as stenographer to the Commissioner Income Tax on 14-2-1926. He was then promoted as Assistant Inc me Tax Officer. He was appoints Income Tax Inspector in a substantive cava city on 3-4-1934. In April, 1941 he passed the departmental examination by a higher standard which qualified him for appointment as an Income Tax Officer. He was appointed as Officiating Income Tax Officer under an order dated 6-11-1941 and joined hat post on 8-11-1941. At that time there were 33 permanent posts of Income Tax Officers in the U. P. Cadre. Some of those permanent posts of Income Tax Officers were lying vacant when the plaintiff was appointed as officiating Income Tax Officer with effect from 8-11-1941. The plaintiffs case is that he was appointed as an officiating Income Tax Officer in one of the permanent posts which were lying vacant at that time. Besides the 33 permanent posts 7 temporary posts of Income Tax Officers were also created: 3 of them being created before the appointment of the plaintiff and 4 after that. The plaintiffs contention was that he was not appointed and shall not be deemed to have been appointed at any relevant time on any of those temporary posts. The lien of seven permanent Income Tax Officers on 7 out of the 33 permanent posts had been suspended and on those posts also persons junior to the plaintiff were appointed in officiating capacity, the plaintiff having already been appointed in one of the permanent posts lying vacant at the time of his appointment. He continued to hold that post continuously and in due course his officiating appointment on that post was made provisionally substantive as had been shown in the gradation list of Income Tax Department corrected upto 1-6-1946, a copy of which is Ex. 23.

(3.) On 13-10-1946 the plaintiff was illegally reverted to the post of Income Tax Inspector. He filed suit No. 272 of 1949 in the court of Civil Judge, Agra on 15-11-1949 challenging his reversion and claiming arrears of salary which he would have got on the higher post. His suit was decreed on 4-4-1951 and a declaration was granted that the reversion order was illegal and that he shall be deemed to have continued on the post of Income Tax Officer. But his claim for arrears of salary was disallowed. The plaintiff filed an appeal in this court and this court remanded the case to decide the plaintiff's claim for arrears of salary on merits. The suit was again decreed by the Civil Judge. Agra, on 7-8-1963 and this time the plaintiff's claim for arrears of salary was also decreed though not in full. Against that decision the Income Tax Department filed an appeal in this court while the plaintiff filed cross-object on. During the pendency of that appeal there was a compromise between the parties and thereafter both the appeal and the cross-objection was withdrawn.