V RAJA GOPALAN Vs. VISAKHAPATNAM PORT TRUST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner in Writ Petition No. 1903 of 1993 was recruited as Clerk on February 16, 1970 in the Research and Planning Department of the first respondent-Organisation. Later, he was promoted as Junior Assistant in 1974 and again as Senior Assistant on April 1,1979. The post of Senior Assistant is Class-III Supervisory Category. There are three posts of Senior Assistants, of which the petitioner is the senior most. There is one post of Head Assistant which is also Class-Ill Supervisory post. The post of Head Assistant fell vacant on November 5,1992. The second respondent by his impugned proceedings dated February 20,1993 promoted the third respondent to the said post which is illegal. The third respondent was promoted as Clerk much later to the petitioner. So also he was promoted as Senior Assistant much later than the petitioner. In all respects, the third respondent is junior to the petitioner, but he was promoted as Head Assistant ignoring the seniority of the petitioner since the third respondent belongs to scheduled Caste. Hence, this writ petition.

(2.) The petitioner in Writ Petition No. 13643 of 1993 was selected and appointed as Sub-Assistant Health Inspector in the first respondent- Organisation on October 7, 1964. Later he earned promotions as Sanitary, Malaria Inspector Grade-II on July 22, 1972 and Sanitary Malaria Inspector Grade-I on July 1, 1978. He is the senior most Sanitary Malaria Inspector Grade-I. Chief Health Insepctor is the next higher post. The said post was created for the first time in the port during 1974 and one Sri P.P. Nath was appointed. Due to his sudden death in 1975, as vacancy arose, it was filled up by promoting Sri B.V. Ramabhadram. The said Ramabhadram since retired in 1981, one Sri K. Appala Narasaiah was promoted and he continued to hold the said post till he retired on August 31, 1993. Thus there is a clear vacancy of Chief Health Inspector with effect from September 1,1993. However, ignoring the claims of the petitioner, the said post was reserved for candidates belonging to reserved category which is illegal and consequently, the third respondent who belongs to Scheduled Caste category was promoted on September 21,1993. This action is challenged in this writ petition.

(3.) In the counter-affidavit filed by the Chief Medical Officer of the first respondent-port, it is admitted that the petitioners are seniors in the respective categories of posts, but as per Chapter 11.3 of the brochure regulating the appointments of the port, the vacancy shall be filled in by the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste in the second recruitment year, and as there was no eligible Scheduled Caste candidate in the said cadre, the said vacancy was filled in by the open category candidate and the reservation was carried over to the third recruitment year and as per the said brochure, it shall be filled in only by a Scheduled Caste candidate. So, the vacancy was carried forward for threeyears, since no eligible Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe candidate was available in the first two recruitment years. The selection committee has accordingly, considered the claim of the third respondent who is the lone Scheduled Caste candidate workingas Sanitary Malaria Inspector-Grade. I, for the post of Chief Health Inspector and accordingly, orders were issued appointing him as Chief Health Inspector with effect from September 21,1993. So also the third respondent in Writ Petition No. 1983 of 1993 was appointed as Head Assistant since the said post was reserved for Scheduled Caste candidate.