BHAGABAN MOHAPATRA Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner was selected and appointed temporarily as Grade -II Assistant in the College of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology on 28.2.1970. The authorities being satisfied with his service on 29.1.1976 promoted him to the post of Grade -II Assistant in the scale of pay of Rs. 320 -450/ -.On 5.11.1977 the Petitioner was promoted to the post of Head Clerk in the scale of pay of Rs. 320 -450/ -.On 31.12.1977 the Petitioner was relieved from the post of Store Keeper to enable him to join as Head Clerk in the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture. While the. matter stood thus, on 11.2.1981 a common gradation list of Head Clerks was prepared and in the said gradation list, the name of the Petitioner found place at SI. No. 3. In the year 1981 one Mahadeb Sahu and two others filed O.J.C. No. 665 of 1981 before this Court with a prayer to treat them equivalent to Grade -I Assistants working under the same University and also to treat them as seniors to Opposite Parties 5 to 12 in the said case. It is pertinent to mention here that the Petitioner was impleaded as Opposite Party No. 6 in the said writ application which was disposed of on 18.5.1990. In the said Judgment it was observed as follows:.So far as Opposite Party No. 6 is concerned, the specific averment in the counter affidavit of Opposite Parties 1,3 and 4 is that vide office order No. 4155 dated 23.2.1970, Opposite Party No. 6 was selected by the Statutory Selection Committee for appointment to the post of Grade -II Assistant. Though he was selected for such post he was not able to join the post of Grade -II Assistant due to non -availability of suitable substitute which averment finds support from the counter affidavit filed by Opp. Parties 1, 3 and 4. It is apparent that due to no fault of Opp. Party No. 6 though he was selected to Grade -II Assistant on 28.2.1970 he was not permitted by the authority to join, and taking this fact into consideration the gradation list has been prepared. The placement of the Petitioners in the gradation list has been prepared on the basis of the recommendation of the Statutory Selection Committee, hence we are afraid, we cannot interfere in the inter se seniority between the Petitioners and opp. parties 5 and 6.

(2.) THUS , the position of the Petitioner who was Opposite Party No. 6 in the said Writ Petition remained unchanged in the gradation list and this Court also directed that the same should not be disturbed. In the year 1989 one Laxmidhar Nayak, a Senior Assistant in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, C.A. of the same University approached this Court in O.J.C. No. 3251 of 1989, inter alia, praying that he was entitled to promotion to higher grade with effect from the date when his juniors had been promoted. According to the said Petitioner though he was promoted to the post of Grade -II since 1967 he was prevented from joining the promotional post on the ground that no substitute was available to man the post of store keeper. It was alleged that as he was prevented by the employer from discharging the duties in the promotional post, the benefits flowing from the promotional post should be granted to him. This Court by Order Dated 22.3.1994 allowed the writ application and issued a writ of mandamus to the Opposite Parties to grant promotional benefits to the Petitioner with effect from the date his juniors had been promoted.

(3.) ON receiving notice, the Opposite Parties have appeared and filed counter affidavit taking a stand that though the Petitioner was promoted to the higher post, as generally it takes time to relieve an employee who is in charge of stock and store, there was a delay in relieving him and such delay was not intentional. It is further averred that an employee is only entitled to receive the scale of pay for the post in which he has discharged his duties. As such, the Petitioner cannot claim the benefit of a higher post when he had not joined or discharged his duties in the said post.