RAMESH CHANDRA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE outcome of the Judgment and Order to be rendered in this appeal has since become academic, inasmuch as the respondent No. 7, whose seniority over the appellant was under challenge in the writ petition and having lost there, though has been repeated in the present appeal, now stands allocated to the State of Jharkhand and, accordingly, he is no longer a member of the cadre of the State of Bihar. However, we feel that it would be appropriate to deal with the matter in order to set right the law on the issue. The appellant as well as the respondent No. 7 were Fire Station Officers in the Bihar Fire Service. The respondent No. 7 was senior to the appellant while both of them were holding the posts of Fire Station Officer. Both of them had a general promotional avenue to the posts of Assistant State Fire Officers. The appellant having had owned three presidential medals had, in addition to the general avenue, a special avenue for being promoted to the post of Assistant State Fire Officer. On 27th September, 1994 the appellant applied for consideration of his case through the said Special Avenue, as is available under Rule 660C of the Police Manual. The authorities concerned felt that since the appellant was in the Fire Service, Police Manual had no application. Accordingly, his request to consider his case for promotion through the special avenue provided under Rule 660C was turned down by an order dated 27th July, 1995. The same was challenged by the appellant in a writ petition registered as C.WJ.C. No. 4521 of 1998. In the meantime, on 5th July, 1996 through the general avenue the appellant as well as the respondent No. 7 were promoted to the next higher post, when, inasmuch as the respondent No. 7 was senior to the appellant in the feeder post, the respondent No. 7 became senior to the appellant in the promotional post. The said writ petition was allowed by an order dated 27th June, 2000 when this Court pronounced that Rule 660C of the Police Manual squarely applied to members of the Bihar Fire Service. The Court quashed the order rejecting the request of the appellant for consideration of his case for promotion through the special avenue, as provided under Rule 660C of the Police Manual, and directed reconsideration of the same. Upon such consideration on 7th August, 2001, the appellant was given promotion to the next higher post through the special avenue provided under Rule 660C of the Police Manual with effect from 8th September, 1995. Since the promotion of the respondent No. 7 in the next higher post was with effect from 5th July, 1996, the appellant claimed seniority over the respondent No. 7. Although, the Government supported the claim of the appellant, the Departmental Board did net agree with the same. That resulted in filing of the second writ petition by the appellant. The writ petition has been dismissed by the Judgment and Order under appeal principally on the ground that the Court felt that the appellant obtained out of turn or accelerated promotion and that the promotion, as was accorded to the appellant through the special channel, was not on merits and ultimately, preponing of the date of promotion, in terms of Rule 660C of the Police Manual, cannot effect the people already promoted.

(2.) WE have considered the provisions contained in Rule 660C of the Police Manual, which does not accord either out of turn promotion or accelerated promotion. The same makes available a separate channel of promotion to a deserving Officer. While the appellant could be promoted through the channel provided in Rule 660C of the Police Manual many other people serving the Bihar Fire Service were not entitle to the said channel. In addition to the said channel, the appellant was entitle to, alongwith the respondent No. 7, for being promoted through the general channel. Before promotions to the appellant and to the respondent No. 7 were accorded through the general channel, the appellant had applied, after having had acquired the basic eligibility for being considered for promotion through the special channel, for consideration of his case for promotion through the said channel. For a mistake on the part of the authorities concerned, his case could not be considered at that stage and accordingly, consideration of promotion of the appellant through the said channel was delayed until such time the earlier writ petition was decided and in terms of the directions contained therein, the authorities concerned reconsidered the case. While considering the case of the appellant, the authorities concerned gave the promotion to the appellant from a date earlier to the date of taking the said decision. Whether the appellant was entitle to have this promotion preponed to a date from when he was given such promotion through the general channel or not was not in dispute. The dispute was whether despite giving his promotion from a date anterior to the date of promotion of the respondent No. 7, by virtue of the provisions contained in Rule 660C of the Police Manual, the respondent No. 7 should still hold seniority over the appellant or not. The provisions of the Rule to which emphasis has been given is as follows: -

(3.) THEREFORE , a person promoted through the special avenue devised by Rule 660C would be placed below the Officers of the approved existing list of respective rank prepared by Selection Boards and thereupon they shall be confirmed against substantive vacancies as and when vacancies could arise in the order of the list. In other words, the person concerned occupies the lowest position in the list after all existing officers as pre pared by Selection Boards. Therefore, the person concerned would occupy his place below the last person already selected through the general channel.