SIDHESWAR DEKA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these writ petitions have been filed challenging the promotions of the private respondents on the ground that while promoting them the official respondents did not consider the case of the petitioners who are admittedly senior to them. The petitioners in W.P.(C) No. 737/2000, W.P.(C) No. 933/2000 and W.P.(C) No. 768/2000 are working as Accountant under the respondent Marketing Board while the petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 1529/2000 is working as Accounts Assistant under the Board. It is the grievance of the petitioners that the private respondents even in the cadre of L.D.A. (Grade III) and persons belonging to Grade IV have been promoted as Marketing Inspector giving them multiple promotions ignoring the case of the petitioners who are much senior to all the private respondents.

(2.) THE official -respondents have filed an affidavit in W.P.(C) No. 737/2000 and the learned counsel for the respondent -Board submits that the said affidavit -in -opposition will govern all the cases. Respondent No. 12 in W.P.(C) No. 737/2000 has also filed an affidavit supporting the action of the official respondent towards his promotion as Marketing Inspector.

(3.) THE official respondents in their affidavit have taken the stand that the private -respondents had to be promoted at the first instance, in the exigency of service and thereafter their promotions were regularised. As per the stand taken in the affidavit, there is no service rule governing the service condition of the employees of the respondent -Board and that basically there are two streams of service, i.e., administrative service and field service. According to the respondents, the promotion to the cadre of Marketing Inspector is effected only from amongst the employees working in the field service. However, in the instant case, the incumbents, i.e., some of the private respondents had to be promoted from the administrative side in the exigencies of service.