KRISHNA CHANDRA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner in this writ application has sought quashing of order dated 20.2.1996 (Annexure -1) passed by the Engineer -in -Chief -cum -Special Secretary, Department of Irrigation, Government of Bihar, by which the petitioners claim for promotion, seniority and other consequential benefits has been rejected. The petitioner has also prayed for directing the respondents to grant to the petitioner the scale of Assistant Engineer with effect from 8.12.1966, the date from which the petitioner claims to be discharging the duties of the Assistant Engineer on current charge basis and for further promotion to the rank of Executive Engineer with effect from 31.3.1983 i.e. the date when petitioners junior Sri Haidar Hussain was so promoted. The petitioner has also prayed for grant of all other consequential benefits in the matter of salary etc. and subsequently in the matter of fixation of his post retirement benefits as the petitioner has now retired from service on 30.11.1991.

(2.) THE petitioner was appointed as Boring Supervisor under Agriculture Department, Government of Bihar on 31.5.1956. His qualification was Industrial Diploma on the basis of a five year apprenticeship course in Bihar College of Engineering, Patna. In 1973, the post held by the petitioner and some other posts were merged in the cadre of Junior Engineer of Irrigation Department but prior to that, according to petitioner, by Annexure -8 dated 14.9.1966 the petitioner was allowed to officiate as Overseer S.D.O. According to petitioner, several persons holding similar qualification as that of the petitioner and junior to him were granted promotions to the post of Assistant Engineer as well as to the post of Executive Engineer but the petitioners case was not considered and he could not get any promotion in his service career till he retired on 30.11.1991. From the writ petition it is clear that the petitioner along with some other persons had challenged a tentative gradation list through writ petition bearing CWJC No. 1862 of 1982. Thereafter, he and some other had moved this court through another writ application bearing CWJC No. 5851 of 1984 which was disposed of by order dated 20.2.1989 (Annexure -14) directing the petitioner to first pursue remedy before the Administrative Tribunal. Subsequently, the petitioner moved this Hon ble Court once again through CWJC No. 5500 of 1995 which was disposed of by order dated 13.11.1995 (Annexure -18). By this order, the petitioner was directed to file a detailed representation before the departmental authority and such representation was directed to be disposed of by a speaking order within a fixed time. Accordingly, the petitioner filed a representation which has been rejected by the impugned order dated 20.2.1996 contained in Annexure -1.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the petitioner submitted that at least 10 persons similarly situated as the petitioner and junior to him had been granted promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer and while dealing with that aspect of the matter, the En -gineer -in -Chief -cum -Special Secretary has committed errors of record and wrongly held that those 10 persons had been granted promotions much earlier from dates prior to the merger of the cadre and, therefore, according to him, the Irrigation Department was not responsible for or in any way concerned with those promotions. To substantiate the submission learned counsel has relied upon and referred to Annexures 6, 6A and 20 to the writ petition. These annexures show that the actual orders of promotion were issued in the year 1974 after the merger of the cadre had taken place but the effect of the promotion was given from the dates those persons had been officiating or holding the said post on current charge basis. The fact that those 10 persons are junior to the petitioner is apparent from a gradation list of 20.7.1974 contained in Annexure -9 where the petitioner is at serial 24 and the other 10 persons are at serial 31 and below.