BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED AND ANOTHER Vs. CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL, CHANDIGARH BENCH, CHANDIGARH AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment shall dispose of a bunch of petitions*, which are directed against similar orders passed by the Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (for brevity, 'the Tribunal'). The facts, however, are being taken from the order dated 26.5.2009, passed in TA No. 47/PB/09 (CWP No. 13898 of 2007).

(2.) Before the Tribunal, the claim made by the original applicant-respondent was that they have been members of the Telegraph Engineering Service Class II before enforcement of Telegraph Engineering Service (Class II) Recruitment Rules, 1966 (for brevity, 'the 1966 Rules'). There used to be a cadre known as 'Engineering Supervisor Telecom', which was later on re-designated as 'Junior Engineer' and promotion from the aforesaid cadre used to be made to the post of 'Assistant Engineer' in accordance with Paragraph 206 of the P&T Manual Volume-VI. In the absence of statutory rules, the executive instructions used to govern promotion and other exigencies of service concerning Assistant Engineers. Those who had passed the qualifying examination earlier were to rank senior as a group to those who passed the examination on subsequent occasions. Their inter se seniority, however, used to be determined according to their seniority in the cadre of Engineering Supervisor @ Junior Engineer.

(3.) The whole controversy was set in motion when a Division Bench of Allahabad High Court rendered a judgment in the case of Parmanand Lal and Brij Mohan Vs. Union of India (WP Nos. 2739 and 3652 of 1981, decided by the Lucknow Bench on 20.2.1985 ). The claim made by Parmanand and his associates in the aforesaid petition was that he had been wrongly placed in the eligibility list below the last person who passed the qualifying examination in the year 1975, whereas he had qualified the examination held in the year 1974. The writ petition was allowed by the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court holding that those who qualified the departmental examination earlier were entitled to be promoted prior to those who qualified it later irrespective of their inter se seniority in the cadre of Engineering Supervisor @ Junior Engineer. The Division Bench further held that there was no conflict between Paragraph 206 of the P&T Manual either with the 1966 Rules or any other rules. Against the aforesaid Division Bench judgment, Special Leave Petition Nos. 2284-86 of 1986 (Union of India and others Vs. Parmanand Lal and others ) was dismissed by Honourable the Supreme Court on 8.4.1986 and accordingly the view of the Allahabad High Court attained finality.