R H SAYYAD Vs. MAHARASHTRA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner was appointed as a Lower Division Clerk on 15th June, 1959 and came to be promoted as Assistant Accountant w. e. f. 6. 4. 1970. He was further promoted to the Post of Divisional Accountant from 8th June 1971. On the basis of the decisions rendered by the Division Bench of this Court in Special Civil Application No. 3071/1973 and W. P. 2948/1979 as well as W. P. No. 79/1979, the respondent Board has re-drawn the seniority list of the employees in the Accounts Branch as on 31. 3. 1977 and the petitioner was shown at Sr. No. 104 in the said seniority list.

(2.) BY way of the instant petition, the petitioner raises a limited grievance regarding his promotion to the post of Accounts Officer with retrospective effect i. e. from 7th February, 1977. He has been promoted to the said post w. e. f 26th March, 1984 and he claims that his junior at Sr. No. 108, in the above referred seniority list, Shri N. S. Borkhede, came to be promoted to the said post from 7-2-1977, whereas the similar benefit was not granted to the petitioner. He was thus, superceded though there was no adverse record of service at any point of time. He had submitted a representation to the respondent Board on 1. 4. 1985 and it appears that he continued to submit such representations from time to time, the last being submitted on 10-9-1991. As there was no response from the respondents, he approached this Court.

(3.) THE Assistant Personnel Officer with the respondent No. 1 Board has filed a return and it has been contended that, for promotion to the post of Accounts Officer, educational qualifications of a University Degree, preferably in Commerce, has been prescribed under the M. S. E. B. Employees Classification and Recruitment Regulations, 1961. The petitioner does not possess a University Degree and, therefore, he could not be promoted alongwith his other colleagues w. e. f. 7. 2. 1977 and the Board exercised its powers under Regulation No. 36 of the service regulations and granted him promotion from 24. 1. 1984. The prayer for deemed date of promotion has been opposed only on the ground that the petitioner could not be considered unless relaxation in educational qualifications was granted under Regulation No. 36 or the petitioner possessed a Graduation Degree.