NIRMAL KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this writ petition for a direction to the respondent-State to grant him promotion as an Assistant Engineer from the time his juniors were promoted. His second prayer is that the period when he officiated as Assistant Engineer should be taken in to account for the purposes of reckoning his seniority.

(2.) There is counter affidavit and rejoinder thereto. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the State and with their consent, this writ petition is being disposed of at this stage itself.

(3.) It is not in dispute that petitioner after due selection was appointed as a Junior Engineer (Civil) in the Public Health and Engineering Department, Government of Bihar on 28.04.1983 under the reserved quota for Scheduled Caste. On the same day and in the same process, one Sri Tapeshwar Choudhary was also appointed on the Scheduled Caste quota. The gradation list of the Junior Engineers is Annexure-2. From Annexure-2, it would be evident that Tapeshwar Choudhary was petitioner's immediate junior. On 17.08.1989, twelve persons, who were immediate seniors to the petitioner, were made In-charge Assistant Engineers. It remains unrebutted that one of them at that time was not even in service. Petitioner asserts this because if the person, who was not in service, is excluded then 12th person to be selected for being made In-charge Assistant Engineer would be the petitioner and, thus, he would have been In-charge Assistant Engineer from 17.08.1989. However, as petitioner had not made any grievance in this regard at the earliest, this Court would not consider those events to be of any consequence