ANINDYA KUMAR BHATTACHARJEE Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By the writ petition as many as three T.C.S, Grade-II officers challenged the proposed amendment of Tripura Civil Service (Eighteenth) Amendment Rules, 2000 issued vide Notification No.F.23(10)-GA/98 dated 23rd December, 2000. In the interim. the petitioners prayed for an interim direction staying the operation of the aforesaid Notification dated 23.12,2000, the Court is now concerned relating to the interim matter pending disposal of the writ petition. By the aforesaid Notification, the Government proposed to earmark some duty posts to be manned by T.C.S. Grade-I and T.C.S. Grade-II respectively. The petitioner's grievance in short, is that Tripura Civil Service is a consolidated service having single identical status of all the officers irrespective of Grades. Though mention is there as to Grade-I with a particular pay scale and Grade-13 with a higher pay scale of the officers under Tripura Civil Service Rules, 1967 (in short TCS Rules, 1967), but movement from Grade-II to Grade-I is nothing but upgradation of the pay scale allowing Selection Grade scale within the same status and that cannot be treated as promotion for the purpose of applying reservation clause and/or 100 point roster clause.

(2.) Mr B. Das, learned senior counsel for the petitioners submits that while the State Government made attempt to adopt the reservation rule in the matter of movement of TCS officers from Grade-II to Grade-I treating it as a promotion post, one T.C.S. officer filed writ petition bearing No. Civil Rule 113/98 and sought for interim order in Civil Misc, Application No. 100/98 and this Court passed interim order which runs as follows:-

(3.) Mr U.B. Saha, learned senior Govt. Advocate, assisted by Mr T.D. Majumder, learned counsel for the respondents rally submits that the Government has competence to frame and/or amend Recruitment Rules in exercise of power delegated to it by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India and the Govt. contemplated to amend the Tripura Civil Service Rules, 1967 in conformity with the provision of Article 16, particularly 16(4) and 16(4A) of the Constitution of India and in doing so the Government has neither violated the provision of constitutional mandate nor any other provision of any mandatory law nor it violated the doctrine of reasonableness.