K S GAME Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, K. S. Game, has filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the promotion of the respondents 2 to 20 to the post of Assistant Director of Industries and subsequent promotions on the ground that his claim was not considered by the State Government. The petitioner also seeks a writ of mandamus directing the State Government to consider his case and accord him due promotions.

(2.) THE petitioner was appointed as a trainee Block Level Extention officer by the then State of Madhya Pradesh on 21-8-1956 and was subsequently appointed as an Extension Officer in the pre-unified scale of Rs. 150-10-250. Some time after the re-organisation of States, the Development Blocks were abolished and the officers attached to the Blocks were absorbed in various departments. It appears that the petitioner and some others attached to the blocks were absorbed in the Commerce and Industries Department.

(3.) PURSUANT to the provisions of section 115 of the States Re-organisation act, a final Gradation List of Commerce and Industries Department was published in the Madhya Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary dated 22-10-62 (Annexure B to the petition ). In Category III of the non-gazetted officers of Glass iii certain posts from different regions of the State were equated and a common gradation List was prepared on the basis of the said equation. The posts equated were : mahakoshal region : Loan Inspector, Block Level Extension Officer, Regional Inspector Handlooms. Madhya Bharat region : Inspector, Industries and Commerce Inspector Survey, Inspector Commercial Accounts Investigator Handicrafts Block Level Extension Officer. Vindhya Pradesh region : Block Level Extension Officer District Industries Inspector. Bhopal : Village Industries Extention Officer. In the Gradation List the petitioner was put at Serial No. 36 in order of seniority, while a number of respondents from Madhya Bharat and Vindhya Pradesh regions were placed below him. The plea of the petitioner is that though Inspectors, Industries and Commerce from the Madhya Bharat region and other categories from other regions, referred to above, enjoyed a slightly better scale of pay, the effect of the equation was that after 22-10-1965 the various categories of officers of different regions mentioned above were brought under one cadre and their seniority was also fixed on the basis that they belonged to one cadre for the purposes of absorption, confirmation, fixation of scales of pay and promotion.