KRISHNA NANDAN CHOUDHARY Vs. BIHAR STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been preferred with the prayer to set aside the gradation list (Annexure 1) of the Junior Electrical Engineers, GTO Cadre of the Bihar State Electricity Board, inter alia, on the ground that the same has been prepared by applying wrong principles.

(2.) 28 petitioners have joined this writ petition, and impleading as many as 133 employees of the same cadre as party respondents, all of whom figure in the gradation list. The history of initial recruitment, employment and absorption of the parties in the services of the Board is indicated in its counter affidavit. In October, 1975, the Board had engaged 174 Graduate Engineers and 300 Diploma Holder Engineers through Employment Exchange under Employment/Promotion Programme and the Apprentices Act 1973. These engineers had to undergo training for 4 months, whereas the Engineers who were engaged under the Employment/promotion programme had to undergo training for 4 months, and those engaged under Apprentices Act, had to undergo training for a period of 12 months. After completion of their training, the Engineers resorted to relay -fast for their absorption in the Board in the respective cadres of Assistant Engineers/Junior Engineers. The Board however had engaged them for further period of 6 months after training and 158 Graduate Engineers and 182 Diploma Holder Engineers were registered and engaged as Trainee Engineers with effect from 1.4.1977. After a few months these trainee engineers again resorted to agitational programme to pressurise for absorption in the service of the Board. The Board decided that Trainee Engineers could continue as such till they were absorbed in the services of the Board. Subsequently, 57 Graduate Engineers and 57 Diploma Holder Engineers were also selected through the Employment Exchange for 1 year training programme under the Apprentices Act, with effect from 1.4.97. The Board had also taken a decision to meet the requirement of Engineers for the extension Unit of PTPS, BTPS, MTPS, TTPS and Swam Rekha Hydel Project and they were placed under one year extensive training. The Board had envisaged that after completion of the training they were required to appear the examination and the successful candidate among the trainee engineers were to be employed in power stations. This decision of the Board, however, was again opposed by the aforementioned Trainee Engineers who again resorted to agitational programme against the said examination and they had demanded that they should be straightway absorbed in the Board services on completion of their training. The matter was raised in the Legislative Assembly by the Members of the House and a Committee headed by the then Speaker, Late Tripurari Prasad Singh was constituted by the House to suggest the remedial measures for absorption of the trainee Engineers by the Board. The Tripurari Committee submitted its recommendation vide proceeding of the meeting dated 10.3.1979 and some of the prominent recommendation of the Committee was as follows

(3.) WHILE assailing the validity of the basis of preparation of the impugned gradation list, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the Committee constituted for this purpose had gone into the depth of the matter and submitted its report dated 26.4.79 (Annexure 2), paragraph 4 of which reads as follows : - <IMG>JUDGEMENT_504_PATLJR1_2001.jpg</IMG>