DIRECT RECRUIT CLASS II ENGINEERING OFFICERS ASSOCIATION NAGPUR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These Writ Petitions are the latest in a series of Writ Petitions which have seriously affected the Service of Engineers in the State of Maharashtra and Gujarat. There has been considerable litigation relating to the seniority of various categories of Class 1 and Class 11 Officers in the Engineering Services of the two States, lime has added its own dimension to the complex interpretation and implementation of various Rules revised or replaced time and again to meet changing circumstances or comply with judicial pronouncements.

(2.) In order to appreciate several contentions raised in the 15 writ Petitions which are before us, it is necessary to refer as briefly as is possible, to the history of the service and how it has been affected by the changes in Recruitment and Seniority Rules and by litigation.

(3.) Prior to 1937 the Engineering Services in the then Province of Bombay consisted of (1) Indian Engineering Service which was an All India service, (2) Bombay Subordinate Service of Engineers ; (3) Supervisors, both permanent and temporary; and (4) Temporary Engineers. Under Government Resolution dated 22nd March 1937 of the Government of Bombay, the engineering services in the State of Bombay were reorganised. Two provincial engineering services were constituted. They were designated as The Bombay Service of Engineers Class I and The Bombay Service of Engineers, Class II. The Bombay Service of Engineer, Class I contained the posts of Chief Engineer Superintendent Engineer, Executive Engineer and Assistant Engineer in descending order. The Bombay Service of Engineering, Class II consisted of officers designated as Deputy Engineers. The appointment to these posts were both by direct recruitment as well as by promotion from subordinate services In the case of Deputy Engineers, the promotions were from the Bombay Subordinate Service of Engineers, Supervisors-both temporary and permanent, and temporary engineers Direct appointments as Deputy Engineers from Engineering Graduates of Pune University were being made under a guarantee given under a resolution of the Government of Bombay dated 12.7.1940. The last batch of students who obtained the benefit of this guarantee were those who passed B.E. (Civil) Examination in 1949.