SRINATH JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition arises from a dispute of promotions from Class III posts to posts in the higher pay-scale, Class II category in the Bihar State Housing Co-operative Federation Limited, Patna. The four petitioners seek to challenge the promotion orders, dated 31.8.1999 (Annexure-7), and dated 10.8.2000 (Annexure-9) by which respondents 4 to 11 were allowed promotions, disregarding the petitioners. The main grievance of the petitioners is that in granting promotions their respective seniority over the respondents was overlooked.

(2.) IT is common ground that the promotions were made in terms of the provisions of the office order, dated 22.4.1999 issued by the Secretary to the Federation in pursuance of resolution No. 368, dated 26.2.1999 passed by the Federation's Board of Directors. The office order made it expressly clear that promotions from the posts of Sr. Assistant/Assistant and other equivalent posts to the higher pay-scale in Class II category will be made on the basis of selection, for which Selection Committee(s) will be constituted by the Managing Director from time to time; that for being considered for promotion a list of candidates will be prepared, in accordance with seniority, which would contain the names of candidates, three times in number of the available vacancies; that on the basis of their comparative merits, character rolls/special character rolls, the candidates will be categorized as outstanding, very good and good. And the departmental promotion committee will make its recommendations to the Administrator/Board of Directors in respect of the candidates on the basis of their character rolls, devotion to duty, achievement of work targets, knowledge of subject, behaviour with superiors, subordinates and members of the public and having regard to their seniority. On promotion seniority in the promoted rank will be reckoned on the basis of the inter-se-seniority in the lower grade. The office order thus made it quite clear that the seniority in the rank of Sr. Assistant/ Assistant etc. will serve only two purposes (i) it will be used for fixing the zone of consideration and (ii) in case of promoted candidates their seniority in the promoted rank will follow their inter-se-seniority in the lower grade.

(3.) ON this aspect of the matter Dr. Jha submitted that the provision for granting promotion, on the basis of comparative merits, to be determined in the light of the relevant service records was impossible to be followed in the Federation for the simple reason that the service records of the employees were not maintained properly. Laying some emphasis on this submission Dr. Jha invited my attention to the statements made in paragraphs 14 and 22 of the writ petition where it is stated that since 1985 no character rolls of the Assistants were being maintained in the Federation. Further, in para 3 of I.A. No. 1003 of 2001 filed by the petitioners, it is stated that the Federation was not maintaining any character rolls and in the absence of any character roll the grading of the employee was not possible.