DASARATHI BEHERA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH these Writ Petitions have been filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the judgment dated 14.5.1999 passed by the Orissa Administrative Tribunal, Bhubaneswar, allowing Original Application No.2129/1997, vide Annexure -1, and quashing the Resolution dated 18.9.1997 issued by the State Govt. in Forest and Environment Department.

(2.) O .J.C. No.6498/1999 is filed by respondent Nos.4 to 9 arraying respondents Nos.1 to 3, i.e., the Stated and its functionaries, as O.P. Nos.1 to 3, and the applicants as O.P. Nos.4 to 11, whereas O.J.C. No.10061/1999 is filed by the State and its functionaries, i.e., respondent Nos.1 to 3, arraying respondent Nos.4 to 9 as O.P. Nos.1 to 6 and the applicants as O.P. Nos.7 to 14. As both the writ petitions arise out of one and the same judgment, those were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment. Counter affidavit and affidavits filed by the respective parties in the former case have been adopted in the latter case as prayed for by the learned counsel for the parties.

(3.) IT was admitted by the learned counsel for the State as well as the learned counsel for the petitioners in O.J.C. No.6498/1999 that the Govt. in its Resolution dated 7.3.1996 had decided to absorb the staff of the office of the C.W.L.W., Orissa in the grade/cadre of the Heads of Department. The aforesaid Resolution is quoted as hereunder : - "The Government in Forest & Environment Department Resolution No.13652 -2(M) -12/92 -F.& E. dated the 11th July, 1995 have declared the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/Chief Conservator of Forests (W.L.) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Orissa, as a separate Heads of Department and equivalent in status and responsibility to that of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests/Chief Conservator of Forests, Orissa under the Administrative control of the Forest & Environment Department. Consequent upon declaration of the said Heads of Department, absorption of the Ministerial staff of the office of the erstwhile Chief Wildlife Warden, Orissa in the Grade/Cadre of the Heads of Department has been felt necessary. After carefully consideration Government have now been pleased to decide that the Ministerial posts created for the office of the erstwhile Chief Wildlife Warden, Orissa as enumerated in the Schedule appended to this Resolution shall be merged in the Grade/Cadre of the aforesaid Heads of Department and the incumbents holding those posts on the date of issue of this Resolution shall be redesignated as in the Schedule. The seniority of the existing incumbents in the office of the erstwhile C.W.L.W., Orissa as maintained on the date of issue of this Resolution shall remain unaltered on their absorption in the Grade/Cadre of the Heads of Department as maintained by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. In the aforesaid process of absorption, the existing Ministerial staff in the Heads of Department Grade/Cadre the post of Office Superintendent and the post of Head Clerk shall be down -graded in redesignating them as Section Officer, Level -I and Senior Assistant respectively, 2 posts of Senior Clerk shall be upgraded in redesignating them as Senior Assistant. The down -gradation of the post may affect the employees namely the Head Clerk and the Office Superintendent in the long -run for which they may be allowed to opt to retain their old post and in old scale of pay. xxx xxx xxx" It is also an admitted fact that in the Resolution dated 18.9.1997 the Govt. in Forest and Environment Department decided to modify its earlier decision in the matter and to fill up the ministerial posts in the office of the Wildlife Warden, which was called the P.C.C.F. (W.L.), and had been declared as Heads of Department in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Orissa Ministerial Service (Method of Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Assistants and Section Officers in the Offices of the Heads of Departments) Rules, 1994. It was indicated therein that the authority controlling the Common Cadre of Ministerial staff in the Heads of Department, i.e., the P.C.C.F. would continue to be the cadre controlling authority of the Ministerial staff working under the P.C.C.F. (W.L.), Orissa, along with other Heads of Department, namely, C.C.F. (Kendu Leaf), Director, Social Forestry Project, Orissa, and that the staff belonging to District Cadre, who had been absorbed in the Heads of the Department Cadre as per the Resolution dated 7.3.1996 would be reverted to their parent cadre, i.e., the District Cadre in the Forest Department consisting of posts in the office of D.F.O. and the offices of Conservator. It was further indicated that although the pay scales and conditions of service of the staff were identical, normally by practice the services of employees working under Divisional Forest Officer and Conservator were not interchangeable among themselves; hence the staff of the office of P.C.C.F. (W.L.), Orissa, who were brought from the office of the Conservators and Divisional Forest Officers would return to their respective offices in the District Cadre and such staff on their reversion to the district cadre would not lose their seniority and their original seniority before coming over to the office of the Chief Wild Life Warden, Orissa, would be maintained in the District Cadre and kept intact, and would be taken into consideration in deciding all types of Service benefits to be given.