SHIV KUMAR MISHRA Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenge in the present Letters Patent Appeal is to the judgment dated 27.11.2017 passed by the learned Writ Court in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 6599 of 2017. By the impugned judgment the learned Writ Court has refused to grant the prayer of the petitioner to direct the respondent authorities for shifting the date of promotion of the petitioner on the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) from 01.01.2005 to 29.03.2004.

(2.) The facts of the case are not in dispute to the extent that the petitioner who was working as a Junior Engineer, having passed his examination for Associate Membership of the Institution of Engineers ( in short 'A.M.I.E.') on 29.03.2004 got promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer vide Notification No. 917 dated 16.04.2007 (Annexure-2 to the writ application) w.e.f. 01.01.2005. The grievance of the petitioner is that he was eligible for promotion w.e.f. 29.03.2004 when he passed the A.M.I.E. examination. In this connection reliance has been placed on the resolution as contained in Memo No. 5008 dated 22.07.1998 (Annexure-3 to the writ application) issued by the Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar wherein paragraph 4 (Gha) it is provided that on the basis of passing of the A.M.I.E. or equivalent examination by the Junior Engineers, their seniority shall be fixed on the basis of the date of passing of the examination and promotions shall be given against 10 % quota of the vacant posts of Assistant Engineers in terms of the seniority. The case of the petitioner is that once he passed the A.M.I.E. examination on 29.03.2004 and on that date the vacancies were available under 10 % quota, he would be entitled for promotion with effect from the date he became eligible by passing the said examination.

(3.) Learned Writ Court has quoted in detail the contents of Annexure-3 to the writ application and after going through the proceeding of the Committee, which considered the case of the promotion of the petitioner, found that the meeting of the Committee was held on 06.10.2006, the Committee found that 19 Junior Engineers were eligible for promotion including the petitioner whose name appeared at serial no. 19. It was further found that since there were only 16 posts available under 10 % A.M.I.E. quota on 01.01.2004, the candidates listed at serial no. 1 to 16 of the merit list were entitled to get promotion w.e.f. 01.01.2004 and since the petitioner appeared at serial no. 19 of the said list, he was granted promotion against the posts falling vacant in the year 2004 w.e.f. 01.01.2005 along with two others.