ASHARAM DEBBARMA Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. P. Datta, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. P. K. Paul, learned counsel for the respondents.

(2.) THE short question which has given rise to the present controversy is whether a person with surname 'barua' can be treated as a member of the Mog community recognized as Schedule Tribe (ST) and appointment/promotion of such a person to a higher post/grade against reserved quota is legally sustainable.

(3.) THE petitioner Sri Asharam Debbarma is an employee in the rank of Upper Division Clerk (UDC) in the Directorate of Employment, Services and Man Power Planning, Agartala West Tripura. In the seniority list published on 19. 8. 93, the position of the petitioner was at Sl. No. 9 and he being a member of the ST community was entitled to be promoted to the next higher post of Accountant/head Clerk/statistical Inspector/sr. Technical Assistant/jr. Employment Officer against reserved quota according to the 100-point roster. The 5th respondent Sri Amal Barua was admittedly senior to the petitioner. But the grievance of the petitioner is that though no person with surname 'barua' can claim to belong to Mog community, the said respondent with 'barua' surname was wrongly promoted to the post of Statistical Inspector against a vacancy reserved for ST candidate and as a result, though the petitioner as per the 100-pont roster was entitled to promotion to the said post, he came to be denied from the said benefit. By means of this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for quashing and setting aside the impugned order of promotion of the said respondent and to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the said post.