KESHAV Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. At the joint request of the parties, the matter is heard finally at the stage of admission.

(2.) By way of this petition under Article 226, the petitioner is seeking a writ of certiorari as well as the mandamus questioning the impugned order passed by respondent no. 3 - chief executive officer, Zilla Parishad, Aurangabad dtd. 20/6/2022 holding that his promotion to the post of extension officer was made due to a faulty seniority list dtd. 10/10/2017. By resorting to the provisions of the Mahrashtra Zilla Parishad District Services (Post Recruitment Examination) Rules, 1985 ("Rules") he was demoted and reposted as the village development officer, Panchayat Samiti, Paithan.

(3.) The learned advocate for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner joined in the service of Zilla Parishad as gramsevak in 1986 and was due to retire in June 2023. He cleared the Zilla Parishad District Service post recruitment examination in the year 1994. He was thereafter promoted to the post of village development officer in the year 2004. The Zilla Parishad prepared a seniority list on 10/2/2017 for the village development officers to be promoted to the post of extension officer. He was standing at serial no. 2 in the seniority list. Accordingly, he was promoted to the post of extension officer (Agri.) in the year 2017, however, soon thereafter by the impugned order, he was demoted to the post of village development officer on 13/12/2017.