MAHESHWAR PRASAD SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common question of law arises for decision in all these writ petitions and, as such, they have been heard together. The question is whether the clerks working in the Muffasil offices are required to pass the departmental examination in accounts for promotion to selection grades. A Division Bench of this Court in Md. Shamsuddin & ors. V/s. State of Bihar, 1983 PLJR 347, has answered the question in the negative. It has been held that after amalgamation of the posts of Lower Division and Upper Division clerks and creation of new cadre, the clerks are not required to pass the Accounts examination for promotion to the selection grades. When some of these cases came up for hearing on 25.2.94 the correctness of the said decision was doubted and the cases were referred to Division Bench. The Division Bench before which the cases were placed for hearing noticed that the point at issue had already been referred to Full Bench in C.W.J.C.No.989 on 9.8.89. Accordingly, these cases were ordered to be heard by a Full Bench along with C.W.J.C. No. 989. of 1989. It so happened that C.W.J.C. No.989 of 1989 was withdrawn by the concerned petitioners and thus the cases in hand alone survived for decision.

(2.) AT this stage before noticing the nature and scope of the controversy it would be appropriate to briefly introduce the writ petitions. C.W.J.C.No. 2995/90 has been filed by the sole petitioner, a class III employee of the Deoghar Collec - torate, for quashing the order dated 28.3.90 by which his representation for promotion to the selection grade was rejected by the Deputy Commissioner on the ground that he had not passed the accounts examination. C.W.J.C. No. 8347/90 on behalf of 7. petitioners has been filed seeking a writ of mandamus directing the respondents officials of Cooperative Department, to promote the petitioners to the selection grade and senior selection grade from the due dates, that is, the dates from which the private respondents had been promote pursuant to the judgment in in md. Shamsuddin 'scase, 1983 PLJR 347 (supra), and to restore their seniority i the selection grades from the due date The petitioners have, thus, though in directly, also raised dispute regarding their inter se seniority vis -a -vis the privatel respondents. It may be mentioned here that during the pendency of the above two cases, on 17.8.92 promotions granted to as many as 82 persons in the light of the aforementioned judgment of this Court in Shamsuddin 'scase were cancelled or their effective dates were shifted on the ground that promotions had been given on wrong interpretation of the judgment of this Court and in ignorance of the statutory rules dated 29.4.85 making clerks ineligible for promotion to the selection grades without passing the accounts examination. Those who had passed the accounts examination were granted the promotion effective from the date of passing the examination while in respect of persons who had not passed the said examination promotion was cancelled. The remaining three writ petitions i.e. C.W.J.C. Nos. 11167 of 1992, 1566 ot 1993 and 7421. of 1993 have been filed for quashing the said order dated 17.8.92 as regards the concerned petitioners, and for direction to restore their promotions from the dates the same had been granted to them.

(3.) THE rules relating to examination in accounts are contained in Rule 157 of the Board 's Miscellaneous Rules, and the relevant provisions requiring the clerks to pass the examination as condition for his confirmation and promotion is contained in clause (J) of sub -rule (3) thereof. The said clause has undergone changes from time to time, and having regard to its importance it would be useful to quote the clause as it stood at different times in ex -tenso. The rule/clause, as it originally stood in the Board 'sMiscellaneous Rules, 1947 (as the Rules were earlier called) was as under: ''