L PRIYOKUMAR SINGH Vs. N BIRENDRA SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all the Writ Appeals the judgment and order dated 16.5.97 passed in CRs 308/95, 345/95,302/90,919/96,929/96 by the learned Single Judge of this Court has been assailed. The learned Judge took up all the civil rules for hearing together and by the impugned order, the learned Judge was pleased to quash and set aside the final seniority list of the Assistant Engineer (Elect.) of the Electricity Department as on 30.6.94 which was circulated vide Office Memorandum dated 6.5.95 with a further direction to prepare the seniority list afresh.

(2.) The petitioners are the respondents in all the civil rules and they are all Assistant Engineers of the Electricity Department, Government of Manipur. In CR 308/95 the petitioner is the promotee Assistant Engineer in the Electricity Department. He was appointed as S.O. Gr-I on regular basis on the recommendation of the MPSC on 6.10.70. Thereafter, he was promoted as Assistant Engineer on adhoc basis on 5.2.80. Thereafter on the recommendation of the DPC he was appointed on 15.7.85 as Assistant Engineer on officiating basis. Thereafter the Govt. regularised the service of the petitioner in the post of Assistant Engineer w.e.f. 29.8.92. Being aggrieved by this order, the petitioner filed Civil Rule being CR 458/92 for regularisation of his service w.e.f. the year of his adhoc appointment in the post of Assistant Engineer w.e.f. 5.2.80. An order was passed in that Civil Rule regularising the service of the petitioner w.e.f. 5.2.80, but the question of seniority was kept open to be determined by the authority as per seniority rules and in the absence of such rules according to the decisions of the Apex Court and the High Courts. After the order of the High Court in the aforesaid case, the authority by an order dated 3.2.92 annexed to the writ application regularised the service of the petitioner in the post off Assistant Engineer w.e.f. 5.2.80. During the year 1983 and 1985, the Govt. appointed some Assistant Engineers in the Electricity Department through MPSC under direct recruitment quota. These direct recruit Assistant Engineers, though later entrant in the service have been given seniority over the petitioner. The petitioner filed a representation to count his seniority w.e.f. 5.2.80, but the Govt. did not count his period of service on adhoc and officiating basis and published the seniority list on 6.5.95 (Annexure A/1 to the writ application). This Civil Rule was filed with a prayer to quash that seniority list. The stand of the respondents 4-13 was that the writ petitioner having been appointed on adhoc basis dehors the rules, the period of adhoc appointment cannot be counted towards seniority. It was the further stand of the Govt. that the service of the petitioner was regularised w.e.f. 29.8.92 and as such he was not entitled to get seniority prior to the aforesaid date. The stand of the Govt. is that the petitioner along with 6 other S.Os. Gr-I were promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer on 5.2.80 on adhoc basis against the post reserved for ST candidates and it was made clear that when ST and SC candidates will be available, the petitioner and other adhoc promotee Assistant Engineers will be reverted to their original posts. The name of the petitioner appeared at Serial No. 49 of the seniority list. It is the contention of the Govt. that the service of the petitioner was regularised only on 29.8,92 and though his service was regularised w.e.f. 5.2.80 as per the order of the High Court the question of seniority having been kept open, the Govt. has fixed the seniority of the petitioner as per Rules w.e.f. 29.8.92. The vacant post in the promotion quota was available only in the year 1992 and as such the seniority of the petitioner has been fixed w.e.f. 29.8.92.

(3.) In CR 345/95, the petitioners challenged the seniority list. All the petitioners are degree holders promotee Assistant Engineers. They were appointed on regular basis as S.O.)Gr-I on 28.1.74 and thereafter they were appointed in the post of Assistant Engineer on 6.7.79 on adhoc basis. Respondents 3 to 12 are the direct recruit Assistant Engineers who were appointed on 18.1.83. The services of respondents 13 and 14 were regularised by the Govt. by a special DPC w.e.f. 24.1.84. The services of the petitioners have been regularised w.e.f. 15.7.85. Since the services of the petitioners were not regularised w.e.f. the date of their ad hoc appointment in the post of Assistant Engineer, they have filed a Civil Rule being CR 586/92 before this Court and this Court directed the authority to regularise the services of the petitioners with effect from 6.7.79 i.e. the date on which they were appointed as Assistant Engineer on adhoc basis keeping open the question of seniority to be determined by the Govt. as per seniority rules and in the absence of such miles, as per the decisions of the Apex Court and the High Courts. The direct recruit Assistant Engineers challenged the judgment and order dated 27.3.92 passed in CR 586/92 by filing a writ application being CR 1242/92. But the aforesaid writ application was dismissed by this Court and no appeal has been filed against the dismissal order and as such that order has assumed finality. The contention of the petitioners is that the direct recruit Assistant Engineers are later entrants in the service and the petitioners being in service earlier to direct recruit Assistant Engineers, they are entitled to the seniority. The stand of the Govt. in this case also in the same as has been indicated in the earlier civil rules.