SHASHIDHAR MANDAL Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition on behalf of four Petitioners has been 'filed for quashing the office order No. 144/Estt. contained in memo No. 853 dated 30.10.96 of the Deputy Commissioner, Sanebganj, by which they have been reverted from class III post to class IV post. The facts of the case, briefly stated, are as follows.

(2.) A limited competitive examination was held for giving promotion to class III post in terms of Government circulars providing for promotion of certain class IV staff to class ill post, in the district of Sahebganj. in all, 16 candidates including the four Petitioners herein and Binod Kumar Sinha, Tarun Kumar Singh and Devanand Prasad appeared in the said examination. While the Petitioners failed, the said three persons were declared successful and placed at sl. Nos. 10, 9 and 7 respectively, in the merit list. Curiously, Anr. combined competitive examination was held on 28.5.94. The said Binod Kumar, Tarun Kumar Singh and Devanand Prasad did not appear in that examination obviously because they had already been declared successful in the first examination. In the second examination the Petitioners were declared successful. A joint merit list on the basis of the results of the two examinations was prepared. In that merit list the said Binod Kumar Sinha, Tarun Kumar Singh and Devanand Prasad were shown below these Petitioners. On 13.12.94 The Petitioners were appointed/promoted to class III posts.

(3.) The said Binod Kumar Sinha, Tarun Kumar Singh and Devanand Prasad filed a writ petition CWJC No. 8609 of 1995 challenging the said promotion. This Court held that a joint merit list could not be prepared on the basis of the results of two separate competitive examinations and, therefore, the inter se ranking between the writ Petitioners of that case and the Petitioners herein (who were Respondents Nos. 3 to 6 in that case), was arbitrary. This Court noticed the fact that both the writ Petitioners and Respondents 3 to 6 (Petitioners herein) had appeared in the first examination in which these Petitioners had failed. Accordingly, the Deputy Commissioner, Sahebganj was directed to consider the case of Binod Kumar Sinha and said two Ors. on the basis of the merit position in the panel which was prepared pursuant to the first competitive examination held on 27.4.94. The Deputy Commissioner noted the fact that the said Binod Kumar Sinha and two Ors. had already been, found to be senior to the Petitioners by this Court and accordingly directed that they be promoted against class III post. The claim of these Petitioners for similar promotion has been rejected on the ground that as per the Government order vide Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department's letter No. 11243 dated 6.12.95, appointments against class III-post are now to be made through the Bihar Public Service Commission.