JIBACHH JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the parties.

(2.) THE petitioner, who is a Peon in the Public Health Engineering Department, Mechanical Sub - divisional Office, Madhubani, has prayed for quashing of memo no. 97 dated 22.2.1993 issued from the office of Superintending Engineer, respondent no.3, as contained in Annexure -9 and also the office order no.84 dated 19.3.1993 contained in memo no. 246 dated 19.3.1993 issued from the office of Executive Engineer, respondent no.4, as contained in Annexure -10. The effect of Annexures 9 and 10 is to deny to the petitioner his earlier seniority over respondent no.5, Sri Baidya Nath Jha, a class IV employee of Public Health Engineering Department, Mechanical Sub - division, Darbhanga which he had enjoyed for more than 25 years. The impugned orders also affect petitioner 'sentitlement to supertime scale only as a consequence of aforesaid deprivation of seniority vis -a -vis respondent no.5.

(3.) THE submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioner is that by Annexure 2 and 4 the authorities concerned had allowed his prayer for mutual transfer and merely deprived him of T.A. etc. but not of his seniority which must be reckoned on the basis of actual length of service more so when he had rendered service in the same department of Government of Bihar. According to the petitioner, at the relevant time the mechanical Division did not have a separate cadre of its class IV employees and in any case once request for transfer was allowed without any condition as to loss of seniority then the petitioner cannot be deprived of his seniority and that also after more than 25 years of service in the transferred division.