BISHNU CHARAN MOHANTY Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN the cadre of lower division assistants of the office of the Chief Engineer, roads and Buildings, Orissa. Sri Bishnu Charan Mohanty (Petitioner) was admittedly senior to Sarbasri G. N. Sarangi (O. P. No. 3) Sri A. C. Naik (O. P. No. 4), and Sri K. C. Patnaik (O. P. No. 5 ). Opposite parties 3, 4 and 5 were promoted to the posts of Grade II U. D. Assistants with effect from 16-8-63, 26-10-l964 and 4-1-1967 respectively to the Government (O. P. No. 1) against his supersession by opp. parties 3, 4 and 5. By letter dated 10-5-1969 (Annexure-1) the Under secretary in Works and Transport Department wrote to the Chief Engineer (Roads and Buildings) as follows:-

(2.) AS annexure-1 was cancelled, the petitioner along with another filed O. J. C. No. 709/70. Therein, the petitioner pleaded that though more than three months had elapsed from 2nd April. 1970 when annexure-2 was passed, the inter se seniority in Grade II of the petitioner vis-a-vis opp. parties 3 to 5 had not been fixed, and the petitioner had not been promoted as a Grade II U. D. Assistant. The prayer in that writ application was for issuing a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ to implement annexure-2. In this O. J. C. on behalf of opposite parties 1 and 2 a memo, with an affidavit was filed on 12-8-1970 stating that the Inter se seniority of the petitioner and opposite parties 3 to 5 had been fixed on 10-8-1970 as per the direction of this Court. On 17-8-1970, on behalf of the petitioner, a memo was filed to the following effect:

(3.) THE petitioner's case is that in the cadre of lower division assistants he is senior to opposite parties 3 to 5 and they were promoted on different dates without taking into consideration his case for promotion. The writ application has been filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution for quashing annexure-A dated 24th November, 1969, which was communicated to the petitioner by annex-8, and for issuing a writ of mandamus directing opp. parties 1 and 2 to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to Grade II upper Division as on dates when opp. parties 3 to 5 were promoted.