CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER Vs. SURESH SITARAM MODANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) The order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No.2218/2004 by which the petitioners are directed to promote the respondent as Enforcement Officer/Assistant Accounts Officer/ Superintendent (hereinafter referred to as "EO/AAO/Supt." for short) and to award benefit of seniority and pay fixation, is under challenge in this petition.

(3.) The respondent-Suresh Sitaram Modani was appointed as a Lower Division Clerk in the office of Central Provident Fund Commissioner on 30/07/1990. He was promoted as Upper Division Clerk on 21/04/1994. On 18/04/2001, the respondent was again promoted as Assistant. The petitioner No.1 i.e. the Commissioner of Central Provident Fund issued a Notification on 01/11/2000 for conducting exam for the post of EO/AAO/Supt. The said letter was circulated amongst various offices including office of Regional Provident Fund Commissioner i.e. petitioner No.2 vide Circular dtd. 10/11/2000. As per the said circular, departmental exam was scheduled from 8th to 12/1/2001 for promoting the employees as EO/AAO/Supt. However, due to some administrative reasons, said exam could not be held. Again in the year 2003, a letter dtd. 10/03/2003 was issued notifying the departmental exam for filling up the posts from the examination quota. The vacancy position was notified jointly for the State of Maharashtra and Goa. Vide said Notification three posts were reserved for General category, four posts for Scheduled Caste category and three posts for Scheduled Tribe category. Thus, total ten posts were notified. Subsequently, some vacancies had arisen hence revised position was notified on 09/05/2003 segregating the vacancies of Maharashtra and Goa. As per the said Notification, for Maharashtra two posts for General category, four posts for Scheduled Caste category and three posts for Scheduled Tribe category were notified whereas for Goa one post for General category was notified. Again revised Notification was issued on 20/10/2003 to show the vacancy position. As per the revised Notification total 11 posts were notified out of which four were reserved for the General category, four for Scheduled Caste category and three for Scheduled Tribe category. Thus, as per the vacancy position only four posts were reserved for the General category.