BRAJESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition has been filed to notify the decision of the Establishment Committee in the matter of transfer and posting of the petitioner. The facts are as follows.

(2.) THE petitioner was appointed as Assistant Professor, Humanities and posted in the Government Polytechnic at Gulzarbagh. Patna in 1968. On 8.9.87 he was promoted as Associate Professor. On his representation, by notification No. 203 dated 27.2.92, the promotion as Associate Professor was made effective from 1981. On the same day i.e. 27.2.92, by notification no. 204, he was given time -bound promotion as Professor by upgrading the post of Associate Professor held by him. By notification no. 1633 dated 4.9.95, in continuation of the earlier notification no. 204. dated 27.2.92, he was posted as Professor in BIT Sindri on the upgraded post. Pursuant to the said notification the petitioner joined at BIT Sindri on 18.9.95 where he is posted till date. The case of the petitioner is that he belongs to the Polytechnic cadre and, therefore, could not be posted in BIT Sindri in the Engineering cadre, but under threat of being deprived of promotion he was forced to join at BIT Sindri. He made representation to repatriate him to his own cadre i.e. Polytechnic cadre. He filed writ petition. CWJC No. 8430/97, for salary which had been stopped meanwhile by the Director, BIT Sindri, and for his transfer on repatriation. On 13.1.98 the writ petition was disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to make representation and corresponding direction to the concerned respondents to consider and dispose of the order of the same within two months. In the light of the order of this Court, on 19.1.98 he filed representation which did not bear any result. He then filed MJC No. 2135/98 for initiating contempt proceeding. During the pendency of the case, order was issued on 3.8.98 regarding payment of salary, in December 1998 the Establishment Committee considered his case for transfer and resolved to post him in the Teaching, Learning, Research Development Curriculum (TLRDC) at Patna which was also approved by the Minister but the decision was not notified. Finding no way out he filed the present writ petition seeking direction to implement the said decision of the Establishment Committee.

(3.) AT the initial stage of hearing the grievance of the petitioner appeared to be very simple and straightall that the petitioner seemed to seek was a direction to implement the decision of the Establishment Committee said to have been approved by the Minister Incharge. In the counter affidavit which the Science and Technology Department filed, stand was taken that consequent upon the division of the State under the Bihar Re -organisation Act, having regard to the place of posting of the petitioner at BIT Sindri, now in the State of Jharkhand. The Government of Bihar has no jurisdiction to transfer him. In the circumstances, Government of Jharkhand has been requested by letter dated 181 dated 30.1.2001 to take appropriate decision in respect of the petitioner in the light of the order of this Court in CWJC No. 8430/97 and MJC No. 2153/98. At this Stage the petitioner raised the dispute relating to cadre. According to him, no equivalent post in the Polytechnic cadre being available in the State of Jharkhand he cannot be compelled to remain in a foreign service at BIT Sindri. On the direction of the Court the Department filed supplementary counter affidavit sworn by the Joint Director (Administration), Science and Technology Department, followed by another affidavit sworn by the Secretary of the Department. At the end of the hearing of the case the Department also produced the relevant records. From perusal of the records and the counter affidavits, the following facts so far as relevant to this writ petition, emerge.