BRIJLAL GOSWAMI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN the present and seven connected petitions Nos. 1089, 1090, 1091, 1092, 1093, 1114 and 1115 of 1962 under Article 226 of the Constitutions of India the division Bench, consisting of Mehar Singh J. and myself, referred the following two questions for decision obey a larger Bench:

(2.) THE petitioners filed these petitions on the allegations that there were two classes of gazetted officers in the Education Department in the Punjab before the merger of Pepsu and Punjab States. The P. E. S. (Class I) comprised all officers at the head quarters, Principals of Colleges, Professors and Divisional Inspectors of schools. In P. E. S. (Class II) there were included all the senior Lecturers, Deputy and District Inspectors of Schools and those Headmasters who were holding gazetted posts. The normal rule of promotion from Class II to Class I was that senior-most person in Class II was promoted to Class I, and it made no difference whether, at the time he was promoted, he held the post either of a senior Lecturer or a post which had something to do with the Schools. The position was, however different in Pepsu State and there was in that State one cadre for Schools and another cadre for colleges in P. E. S. (Class II ). When the question of merger of pepsu with Punjab came up, one of the matters that needed determination was the seniority of the persons working in P. E. S. (Class I) and P. E. S. (Class II) in punjab and Pepsu after their merger. On 29th September 1961 the Governor of punjab ordered the bifurcation of the Punjab Educational Service (Class II) into two cadres, i. e. , (1) College Cadre and (20 School and Inspection Cadre (hereinafter referred to as the School Cadre) with effect from 1st November, 1956, as per order reproduced below: punjab Government education Department. Notification. Dated Chandigarh, the 29-9-1961. No. 7687-EDI-61/22306. The Governor of Punjab is pleased to order the bifurcation of the Punjab Educational Service (Class II) into two cadres, viz. (1) College Cadre and (2) School and Inspection Cadre with effect from the 1st November 1956. " the method adopted for bifurcation was that if a person was working on 1st november 1956 on the School and Inspection side P. E. S. (Class II), he was placed in the School Cadre of P. E. S. (Class II), but if he was working on that date in a college he was placed in the college Cadre of P. E. S. (Class II ). Separate lists of School cadre and College Cadre in P. E. S. (Class II) were, accordingly, prepared. The petitioners, who were the members of P. E. S. (Class II) and were working in colleges on 1st November 1956 were shown in College Cadre, while the names of respondent other than respondent No. I (which is the State of Punjab) in the various petitions were included in the list of School Cadre of P. E. S. (Class II)because those respondents were on that date working on the school and inspection side. Actually the Punjab Government started implementing the order dated 29th September 1961 long before that order was issued. It may be added that the petitioners as well as the respondents (other than respondent No. 1, which is the Punjab Govt.) were members of the P. E. S. (Class II) in the Punjab before its merger with Pepsu.

(3.) THE name of Brij Lal Goswami petitioner in petition No. 1088 of 1962 was in order of seniority at No 35 in the joint seniority list of P. E. S. (Class II) before bifurcation, while those of respondents Nos. 2 to 7 were at Nos. 37, 50, 63, 65, 69, and 70 in that list,. Respondents Nos. 2 to 7 were after bifurcation promoted to P. E. S. (Class I) on various dates from 28th October, 1959 till 26th September 1961, while the petitioner has not been promoted.