KASHMIR NOATAX Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner who has been working in the post of Civilian Officer, Grade-I, in the Administrative Wing of the Border Roads Organisation has filed this application under Article 226 of the Constitution mainly for a direction on the respondents to make a cadre review of the posts in the Administrative Wing of the Border Roads Organisation and promote the petitioner to a post higher than that of Civilian Officer, Grade-I, with effect from the date his contemporary officer of the rank of Major as on 28.10.72 was promoted to a higher post and to grant him incidental benefits of such promotion.

(2.) The facts of the case as stated in the writ petition very briefly are that pursuant to the advertisement published by U.P.S.C. in November, 1971, the petitioner was selected and appointed as a Civilian Officer, Grade- 1 in the Border Roads Organisation on 28.10.72. After such appointment, the petitioner was posted in rank of Civil Officer, Grade-I, in different posts from time to time and at the time of filing of the writ application, the petitioner was posted as an Administrative Officer at H.Q. 24 BRTF Project Pushpak in Mizoram. The Border Roads Organisation which undertakes the work of improving existing roads and constructing new roads in the border areas comprises of members of the General Reserve Engineering Force (for short the GREF) and Army Officers, and has five wings namely, Executive Wing, Administrative Wing, Medical Wing, Signal Wing and Postal Service Wing. In the year 1977, by rules made under Article 309 of the Constitution, a separate cadre Border Roads Engineering Service for all persons working under the Executive Wing was formed, but no such rules were framed creating a separate cadre of persons working in the Administrative Wing of the said organisation. As a result, while the officers working in the Executive/Engineering Wing had an opportunity of being promoted to different promotional posts created by such Rules framed in the year 1977, persons working in the Administrative Wing including the petitioner continued to be denied opportunity for promotion in any promotional post.

(3.) The petitioner drew the attention of the authorities about the necessity of creating a separate cadre for the posts in the Administrative Wing of the organisation and to provide for adequate promotional prospects to the incumbents to the said posit. Although, assurances were given by the authorities, no such separate cadre was formed in respect of poss of the Administrative Wing nor any promotional avenue provided in the Administrative Wing. On the other hand, in the year 1983-84, the cadre of the Border Roads Engineering Service was again reviewed and the pay scales of different grades of Engineers in the said cadre wen: raised. Aggrieved by such discriminatory treatment of the respondents towards the petitioner and other similar situated personnel of GREF in matters relating to cadre review and improvement of promotional prospects, the petitioner submitted representations from time to time but no such review was undertaken and no promotional posts were created. Only some posts of Civil Officer, Grade-I (Selection Grade) were created pursuant to the recommendations of Pay Commission. The petitioner's grievance is that while the engineering and Army personnel of the Border Roads Organisation have advanced in different promotional posts with higher scale of pay, the personnel of the Administrative Wing including the petitioner have remained stagnant in their respective posts without any promotional prospects resulting in great-disparity in the service conditions between the Engineering and Army personnel of Organisation on the one hand and the personnel of the Administrative Wing of the Organisation. This discriminatory treatment has been illustrated by the petitioner by stating that the post of Civil Officer - I held by the petitioner was equivalent to the rank of Major of the Army and to the post of Executive Engineer in the Engineering Service, but while a Major from the Army has after the required years of service advanced in his career to posts of the Lt. Colonel and Colonel, and the Executive Engineer has advanced to the promotional posts of Superintending Engineer and Chief Engineer, the petitioner who is serving as a Civilian Officer, Grade-I has stagnated in the said rank of Civilian Officer, Grade-I for the last two decades. Such discriminatory treatment towards the petitioner and other personnel in the Administrative Wing of the Border Road Organisation is violative of the fundamental rights to equality of the petitioner guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.