AJIT KANT SAHAY Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was appointed on the post of Clerk on 5.11.1977 in the Department of Mines and Geology in the erstwhile State of Bihar. In course of time, 1st Time Bound Promotion was given with effect from 5.11.1987. On implementation of the scheme of assured career progression, the petitioner was granted 1st A.C.P with effect from 9.8.1999 in the pay scale of Rs. 5000-8000/- and 2nd A.C.P with effect from 5.11.2001 in the pay scale of Rs. 5500-9000/- vide order as contained in letter No. 575 dated 31.3.2005. When the petitioner completed 30 years of service, he on the ground of ill-health applied for grant of VRS on 10.12.2008. While the matter relating to grant of VRS was pending, an order was passed on 11.9.2009 by the Deputy Secretary, Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi as contained in memo No. 1275 dated 11.9.2009 (Annexure 6) whereby date of grant of 1st A.C.P and the 2nd A.C.P to the petitioner was shifted to 8.6.2004 as that was the date when petitioner cleared 2nd paper of the accounts examination and at the same time, excess amount drawn by the petitioner was ordered to be adjusted from the amount to be paid to the petitioner on fixation of pay. The said order has been challenged in this writ application. At the same time, another order was passed by the Director of Mines as contained in memo No.2326 dated 27.12.2010 (Annexure 11) whereby 1st Time Bound Promotion given with effect from 5.11.1987 was cancelled as on that day, he had not passed the departmental examination and thereby the amount drawn on account of enhancement of pay on account of grant of 1st Time Bound Promotion was directed to be recovered in one lump sum from the arrears of pay which would be paid to the petitioner on account of grant of A.C.P/ revised pay scale. The said order as contained in Annexure 11 has also been challenged

(2.) Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that admittedly the petitioner had been granted 1st Time Bound Promotion with effect from 5.11.1987 but that was cancelled, aide order dated 27.12.2010 after more than 23 years on the ground that at the time of grant of 1st Time Bound Promotion, the petitioner had not passed the departmental examination, rather he had passed the departmental examination in the year 2004. The said order perhaps was passed under wrong notion that one in terms of Rule 157(3)(J) of the Bihar Board's Miscellaneous Rules. 1958 needs to pass examination of accounts for having promotion but that rule in case of Md. Samsuddin v. State of Bihar.,1983 PLJR 347, has been held to have been devoid of any statutory force and thereby then, is no necessity of passing examination of accounts for having promotion. It was pointed out that some proposition has been laid down in other cases such as Kedar Prasad Singh v. State of Bihar and others. C.W.J.C No.42 of 1989 (R) and Uday Kant Jha and others v. State of Bihar and others, C.W.J.C No. 1824 of 1995 (R)

(3.) By referring those judgments, it was submitted that the order as contained in Annexure 11 cancelling 1st Time Bound Promotion granted to the petitioner on 5.11.1987 and seeking recovery of the amount said to have been drawn in excess on that count is bad and is fit to be set aside