PUNIT KUMAR PUNJOT Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed with a prayer for consideration of the past services rendered by the petitioner as a probationer on the post of Hostel Superintendent Grade-II prior to his appointment with the Panchayati Raj Department as Gramsevak-cum-Panchayat Sachiv.

(2.) The case of the petitioner is that he was selected in pursuance to the advertisement dtd. 29/9/2016 vide which the recruitment process for both the 'Gramsevak-cum-Panchayat Sachiv' and 'Hostel Superintendent Grade-II' was taken up. At the first instance, the petitioner was selected as 'Hostel Superintendent Grade-II' as per his merit and he joined the Social Welfare Department in pursuance to the appointment letter issued to him. Later in the year 2018, because of upgradation, the petitioner was selected to be appointed with the Panchayati Raj Department as 'Gramsevak-cum-Panchayat Sachiv' as per his merit. Thereafter, the petitioner got a No Objection Certificate (NOC) dtd. 16/4/2018 from his parent department i.e. the Social Welfare Department and in pursuance to the NOC, he was relieved on 3/1/2019 and joined the Panchayati Raj Department on 11/1/2019. The grievance of the petitioner is that the Panchayati Raj Department has not granted him the benefits for which he is entitled from the date of his initial appointment.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that he joined the Panchayati Raj Department after a valid NOC issued by the Social Welfare Department and in pursuance to the appointment order issued by the Panchayati Raj Department itself. It has further been submitted that the appointment of the petitioner with the Panchayati Raj Department was not in pursuance to any fresh recruitment process but was only a consequence of the upgradation by the department arising out of the same recruitment process taken up in the year 2016. Therefore, petitioner's appointment with the Panchayati Raj Department cannot be termed to be a fresh appointment and consequently, all the service benefits ought to be granted to him keeping into consideration his initial date of appointment with the Social Welfare Department.