S N MODAK Vs. CHAIRMAN COAL INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The writ petitioners who are 14 in numbers have filed the present writ petition praying, inter-alia, :-

(2.) It is stated in detail that the petitioners Nos. 1 to 12 are working as Senior Personal Assistants attached to Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited and the petitioners Nos. 13 and 14 are recently appointed/ promoted as Private Secretary and are working under Coal India Limited. The petitioners are in the employment of Bharat Coking Coal Limited and they were given employment on different dates between the years 1964 and 1975 in the Ministerial Cadre of the Company. The Management of Bharat Coking Coal Limited formulated a Cadre Scheme for promotion in respect of Ministerial Staff including Stenographers and Senior Stenographers by a Circular No. BCCL/PA-II31000-80 dated June 20, 1977. It is alleged that pursuant to the Circular dated June 20, 1977, a note-sheet was initiated in the year 1983 to assess the number of Senior Personal Assistants required in the whole organisation of Bharat Coking Coal Limited comprising of Head Quarters, Area Offices and other establishments of Bharat Coking Coal Limited. After due assessment, it is however, alleged, it was found that a total of 69 vacancies of Senior Personal Assistants were existing. In order to fill up these existing vacancies for the posts of Senior Personal Assistants, a Departmental Promotion Committee was constituted to consider eligibility of Senior Stenographers/Personal Assistants for promotion to the post of Senior Personal Assistants. According to the Cadre Scheme, the case of promotion of Senior Stenographers to the posts of Senior Personal Assistants had to be considered company -wise, that is, all eligible candidates working in the entire organisation were being considered for promotion to the posts of Senior Personal Assistants. A test was held and altogether 106 workmen including the petitioners and the respondents Nos. 7 to 19 appeared in the said test. As a result of the speed test and after observing other formalities for effecting promotion, the candidates who qualified in the said test, a letter dated April 20, 1983 was sent by Shri T.N Srivastava, Deputy Chief Personnel Manager to the Chief Vigilance Officer to solicit his opinion from vigilance point of view as regards 75 Senior Stenographers who were declared as having been qualified in the said speed test and found fit for promotion. The names of the petitioners also allegedly figured in the list of Shri Srivastava and the Chief Vigilance Officer and there was nothing adverse against the candidates. Instead of issuing promotion order on the basis of seniority-cum-merit consideration, the management relied on pick and choose policy resulting in the promotion to the junior candidates ignoring the legitimate and lawful claim of senior candidates. A total number of 43 candidates were promoted but from a close study of the aforesaid promotion orders as referred in the writ petition, it would be evident that the writ petitioners were superseded by their juniors. It is placed on record that when the management did not take any steps to redress the grievance of the candidates and when no promotion orders were issued in favour of the writ petitioners, the Union to which the petitioners were attached to, referred the matter to the Assistant Labour Commissioner and the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 10(1) (d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, referred the matter to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal at Dhanbad for adjudication. The reference was made as to

(3.) The Central Government Industrial Tribunal after exhaustive examination found that the Departmental Promotion Committee was not constituted properly and the recommendations made by it were arbitrary and illegal. The procedures adopted by the Departmental Promotion Committee, refer A the panel and the promotions made from the panel should be set aside, and the management should re- consider the entire matter of promotion of Senior Stenographers to Senior Personal Assistants in accordance with the promotion policy and the Rules of the Company.