VINAYAK LUNGAJI ATHAVALE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this writ petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner has challenged the order of his reversion.

(2.) HAVING passed his B. Sc. (Agriculture) examination, the petitioner appeared for competitive examination held by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission for the post of Assistant in the services of the Maharashtra Government. He came out successfully in the said examination and consequently joined the post of Assistant on February 15, 1971 in the Agriculture and Co-operation Department. It is his case that he was deliberately failed in the examinations for the promotion to the post of Superintendent by officers belonging to high caste because he belonged to Scheduled Caste However, on the last chance, he qualified himself for the promotion and ultimately promoted to the post of Superintendent by an order dated November 7, 1984. Thereafter, according to him, unfortunately he had to work for two years under one Z. Mullim who was under the influence of high caste people and, therefore, harassed him and spolied his confidential reports on account of which by order dated October 9, 1987 he was reverted to the post of Assistant The grievance of the petitioner is that he was not given any opportunity to explain nor given any show cause notice about the proposed action of reversion which, according to him, was a punishment that could not hove been in flitted on him with it being heard.

(3.) THE petition is resisted by and on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra Shashikant Purushottam Chitale, Assistant Secretary to the Government in the department of Agriculture and Co-operation, filed returns. The affidavit shows that as per the Maharashtra Government Subordinate Secretariat Services (Superintendent) Departmental Examination Rules, 1977 every member of the upper division of the subordinate service has to appear for the examination) and for being eligible to appear for the said examination, the candidate must have passed the Post Recruitment Training Examination prescribed for the post of Assistant and must have also completed five years of continuous service as Assistant. Every Assistant is required to pass this examination within nine years of his continuous service as Assistant within three chances. In case the Assistant belongs to Scheduled Caste/scheduled Tribe/denotified Tribe/nomadic Tribe, he is allowed to pass the examination within ten years of his continuous service as Assistant and within four chances. Further, the Assistant who fails to pass the examination within the prescribed period and chances loses the seniority for the purpose of promotion to the post of Superintendent and the Assistants who pass the examination before him and who were junior to him will be placed above him. The petitioner had passed the examination after this prescribed period and chances, it was further averred by Shashikant Chitale, and thus the petitioner had lost his seniority for the purpose of promotion to the post of Superintendent. However, since the belonged to Scheduled Caste and he passed the examination on the last and fourth chance he was temporally promoted to the post of Superintendent in which post he had no vested right to continue and could be reverted before regularisation if his work was not found satisfactory. The allegation of in petitioner that he was harassed and deliberately failed in the examinations and his confidential were spoiled because he belonged to Scheduled Caste were unfounded, according to Shashikant Chitale. It was further averred in his affidavit that the confidential of the petitioner were written by different officers at different times and the allegations against Mullim were unfounded. It was canvassed that the contention of the petitioner that his reversion amounted to punishment was with it any basis. It was further contended that adverse remarks were communicated to the petitioner but no representation had been received from him against the as adverse remarks.