PANDU TUTI Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard counsel for the parties. These petitioners have approached this Court for directing the respondents to grant them regular promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer in the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, Government of Jharkhand from at least 15.11.2000 i.e. from creation of new State of Jharkhand.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that after being appointed as Junior Engineer in the erstwhile State of Bihar in the year 1982 these petitioners have been made to work as In-charge Assistant Engineer vide notification No. 1779 dated 18.8.1989 (Annexure-2). Thereafter, the Bihar Public Service Commission in the year 1995 made recommendation vide letter No. 1162 dated 6.9.1995 for regular promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer from due date to be determined by the Department where the names of these petitioners were there in serial Nos. 22 and 23 (Annexure-3). It is the contention of the petitioners that they were not promoted to the post of Assistant Engineer, thereafter and they continued to discharge the duties as such on the said post as In-charge Assistant Engineer when their services were placed with the State of Jharkhand after its creation on 15.11.2000. They have continued to discharge the said responsibility to the post of Assistant Engineer on In-charge basis without any break till 31.12.2007. Thereafter, by notification Nos. 5941 and 5942 dated 31.12.2007 they were made In-charge Executive Engineer while remaining as In-charge Assistant Engineer since 1989. It is further contention of the petitioners that finally by notification dated 10.1.2012 (Annexure-5) petitioners have been granted regular promotion on the post of Assistant Engineer with financial benefit to accrue from the date they joined the promoted post. Respondents have ignored the continuous discharge of duty as In-charge Assistant Engineer by the petitioners and have not conferred promotion with retrospective effect i.e. at least the date from the creation of State of Jharkhand. Petitioners have referred the cases of two Assistant Engineers who were promoted to the post of Executive Engineer in the Department with retrospective effect from 15.11.2000 and 10.6.2005 vide Annexures-7A and 7B respectively. In such circumstances, petitioners have preferred this writ application. Learned counsel for the petitioners has relied upon judgment rendered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Secretary-cum-Chief Engineer, Chandigarh vs. Hari Om Sharma & Ors., 1998 5 SCC 87 in-support of his contention.

(3.) Learned counsel for the respondents-State on the other hand submitted that the exercise for regular promotion of these petitioners and other eligible persons have been undertaken after obtaining roster clearance, Vigilance clearance, Lokayukt clearance and recommendation of Jharkhand Public Service Commission as well under the notification dated 10.1.2012. It is the contention of the respondents that since the petitioners have remained on the In-charge basis prior to that, the claim of the petitioners would be in violation of Rule 58 of the Service Code and Rule 74 of the Financial Rules under which the incumbent is entitled to financial benefits of the promoted post from the date on which he is regularly promoted to the higher post. Therefore, the respondents contested the claim of these petitioners.