NILAY SURESH BHOGE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition challenges the judgment and order passed in Original Application No.1228/2023 by learned Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Nagpur Bench Nagpur ("MAT", for short) with the civil applications. The petitioners are the original appellants who had filed the said Original Application to set aside the communication dtd. 6/12/2023 rejecting the objections of the applicants and to quash and set aside the final seniority list dtd. 4/12/2023 of the Range Forest Officers (hereinafter referred to as "the RFOs"), consequential prayer to declare that all the directly appointed/nominated RFOs seniority will be fixed from the date of successful completion of their training and to direct the respondent Authorities to prepare a fresh seniority list of the RFOs.

(2.) Before turning to the rival contentions, the facts giving arise to the Original Application are required to be considered. The applicants were initially appointed as 'Forester' which is a feeder cadre for the post of RFO. They were promoted as Ad-hoc RFOs in the year 2014 vide order dtd. 1/3/2014. Since that date they were working as RFOs. The recruitment and the appointment of the applicants was under Article 309 of the Constitution of India and notified in the year 1998, called as "Range Forest Officer in Maharashtra Forest Services Group-B (Recruitment) Rules, 1997". Those Rules have been called as "the 1998 Rules", in the Original Application as well as in the judgment of the learned MAT. Rule 3 of the said Rules prescribes two methods of appointment of RFOs. Rule 3(a) prescribes for appointment of RFOs by way of promotion from the post of 'Forester' and under Rule 3(b) the appointment can be by way of nomination/directly appointed RFOs.

(3.) The applicants contend that the department of Revenue and Forest published a seniority list on 23/10/2023, wherein the date of appointment of nominated/directly appointed RFO was shown from their date of joining training which was contrary to Rule 3(b) of the recruitment Rules for the RFOs. It was without calling any objection as required by the seniority Rules of 1982. However, the applicants had submitted that their detailed objections to the said seniority list, which is not even considered by the Department. In fact the said seniority list was published on 23/10/2023 in respect of RFOs as on 1/1/2019. The applicants have then stated that nominated/directly recruited Assistant Conservator of Forest had filed Original Application No.576/2015 before the learned MAT, Principal Seat at Mumbai, seeking directions to grant date of joining training as date of appointment. That application came to be decided on 3/2/2016, but it was made clear that the State Forest Authority should consider the date of joining training as the date of appointment for the purpose of pay only and it will not affect the other service conditions. But, thereafter, the State Government filed review petition as well as nominated directly recruited petitioners also filed Original Application, seeking review of the said decision. Both those petitions came to be decided on 14/8/2018, holding that the date of joining training should be the date of appointment for all purposes including the seniority. That decision was then challenged in Writ Petition No.2026/2019 before this Court Bench at Aurangabad. This Court decided the said petition on 23/4/2021, allowing the petition and the provision under Government decision granting date of appointment from the date of joining training was read down. The said decision was then confirmed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 15/3/2023. Therefore, as regards the RFOs, a contrary stand cannot be taken when the Rules are almost similar. Taking into consideration those decisions, in fact it is obligatory on the part of the State to prepare a fresh seniority list. However, inspite of the fact that the seniority list finalized in the year 2023 included the names of promotee RFOs initially promoted as Ad-hoc by regularizing their promotion from the availability of posts for promotion quota by order dtd. 12/5/2023, but still the seniority list is not as per the Rules. The seniority list for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 was also published on the same day i.e. on 23/10/2023. However, all of them have been addressed as provisional seniority list. Only the seniority list as on 1/1/2019 is said to be the final list, but it is without calling any objection from the concerned employees.