SHANKAR RAI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are directed against the judgment dated 14th December, 1989, passed by a learned single Judge of this Court in C. W. J. C. No. 8406 of 1988.

(2.) The material facts giving rise to these appeals are as follows :

(3.) It was contended on behalf of the appellants that the learned single Judge erred in holding that the order passed by the State Government cancelling the promotion of the petitioner was not justified. It was urged that the learned single Judge failed to appreciate that under the rules, the petitioner, who was not holding the rank of an Inspector, was not entitled to be considered for promotion to the post of the Deputy Superintendent of Police, that a Subedar became eligible for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police only by virtue of the direction given by the Supreme Court in its order dated 10th February, 1987, to consider the case for promotion to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police of only such Subedars as were having the same educational qualification as we prescribed for Reserve Sub-Inspectors, that the educational qualification prescribed under the rules for recruitment as Reserve Sub-Inspector was passing of a degree examination of an Indian University and that as the petitioner did not admittedly possess that educational qualification as laid down by the Supreme Court, he was not eligible for promotion and hence the order cancelling that promotion could not be held to be illegal. It was also contended that the impugned order, which was passed by the State Government for purging itself of contempt could not be held to be illegal. In reply, it was contended that the Supreme Court had not decided the question about the legality of the impugned order because the Supreme Court had made it clear in the order dated 22nd February, 1989, that the observations made in that order would not stand in the way of adjudication of the petitioner's writ petition filed before this Court. !t was also contended that in the case of promotion to the post of Reserve Sub-Inspector no educational qualification was prescribed, that the action of the State Government in promoting the petitioner to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police was not the subject matter of contempt petition before the Supreme Court and the State Government was not justified, as rightly held by the learned single Judge, in cancelling the order of promotion of the petitioner to the post of the Deputy Superintendent of Police.