ALL INDIA EQUALITY FORUM Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SINCE all these writ petitions involve common questions of law and facts, they have been analogously heard and are taken up for disposal together.

(2.) THE All India Equality Forum (for short `aief') in writ petition No. 4590/2003 seeks to quash the Notification dated December 28, 2002 that pertains to determination of seniority of persons holding the posts in different services in the State of Rajasthan. THE AIEF also prays that benefit of consequential seniority may be declared to be available only in respect of posts/services where persons belonging to SC/st category are not adequately represented and the selections made by Departmental Promotion Committees in respect of services including RAS/rps be reviewed, recalled, quashed and set aside. In the alternative AIEF prays to declare that the benefit of consequential seniority pursuant to 85th amendment of the Constitution may not be given in respect of promotions made prior to June 17, 1995 when the said amendment was brought into force.

(3.) PURSUANT to the aforesaid direction the State of Rajasthan made amendments in various Service Rules giving effect to the provision of Article 16 (4a) of the Constitution vide Notification dated December 28, 2002. The notification reads thus:- " In exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Rajasthan hereby makes the following amendment in the various Service Rules as specified in the Schedule appended hereto, namely. AMENDMENt The existing proviso to rule as mentioned in column number 3 against each of Service Rules as mentioned in column number 2 shall be deemed to have been deleted w. e. f. 1-4-1997 and the following new proviso shall be deemed to have been inserted as the last proviso to the respective rule as mentioned in column No. 3 w. e. f. the date of issue of this notification. " Provided that a candidate who has got the benefit of proviso inserted vide Notification No. F7 (1) DOP/a-II/96 dated 1- 1-1997 on promotion to an immediate higher post shall not be reverted and his seniority shall remain unaffected. This proviso is subject to final decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition Civil No. 234/2002 All India Equality Forum vs. Union of India and Others. "