SURENDRA PRASAD SINGH Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRAYER in this writ application is for issuance of a writ of mandamus commanding upon the respondents to confirm the petitioner on the post of Chief Engineer with effect from 10.03.2006 in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi on the ground that he is the senior most Engineer in his cadre and the State Public Service Commission had found him eligible and had recommended and approved his promotion. A further prayer has been made for directing the respondents to promote the petitioner to the post of Engineer -in -Chief from the post of Chief Engineer with effect from 01.07.2008 which was the date, the post fell vacant.

(2.) PETITIONER 's case in brief is that he is the in -charge Chief Engineer in the aforesaid department. He was confirmed as Superintending Engineer on 01.08.2000. After the retirement of Sri Rajeshwar Prasad on 30.06.2008 from the post of Engineer -in -Chief, the post fell vacant and the petitioner being the next senior most, became eligible for his promotion to the aforesaid post.

(3.) SHRI V.P. Singh, learned senior Counsel for the petitioner explains that it has been a regular practice on the part of the concerned respondents to deliberately delay the process of promotion of the eligible officers and the process is initiated only after orders are passed by the High Court. Referring to the Annexure -7 and Annexure -10 to the writ application, learned Counsel explains that the officers who were senior to the petitioner and who were denied timely promotion in the same manner as the petitioner, had to file writ applications and it was pursuant to the orders passed in the writ applications (Annexure -7 and Annexure -10) that the respondents had granted promotion to the concerned officers.