Dev Raj vs State of Punjab and Others

K. Kannan, J.—The petitioner seeks for direction against the respondents to consider him for the post of Assistant Geologist in accordance

with rules w.e.f. 20.01.1988 from the date when he became qualified/eligible for the post. The petitioner had been appointed as a Sectional Officer

on 20.01.1983, now re-designated as Junior Agriculture Engineer. The petitioner would contend that at the time of appointment, as per the

provisions and rules, the said post was a feeder cadre for promotion to the post as Assistant Geologist. The appointment as per Rule 8 to the

promotion post was by way of promotion to the extent of 662/3% from members of subordinate services with 5 years experience and the

remaining by way of direct recruitment. The rules provided that a person brought on transfer would be counted in the quota of direct recruitment.

Rule 9(ii) provides that officers of the Administrative, Statistical and Engineering categories shall be eligible for promotion within the respective

categories of service. The petitioner would claim that in the year 1981, an amendment was carried to Rule 8.1 of Punjab Agriculture Service

Class-II Rules that created a geology section in which the petitioner was making a claim for promotion. The petitioner would contend that when the

respondents were giving promotion to the post of Assistant Geologist in the year 1985, there were 7 posts on which promotions could have been

made. Annexure P2 revealed that 5 persons belonging to the general category and 2 persons for the reserved category could have been promoted.

There was however no eligible reserved category candidate available for promotion and consequently, one Madan Gopal Sharma was granted ad

hoc promotion from Irrigation Department and Paras Ram Kalia was offered promotion post from Social Welfare Department.

The petitioner himself had been appointed in Geology Section only in the year 1983 and being equivalent to the post as Junior Agriculture

Engineer, the petitioner would contend that Sectional Officer could have been considered and promoted as Assistant Geologist in which wing, the

petitioner was also working since the date of appointment. Admittedly, on the date when an order of promotion was issued under Annexure P2,

the petitioner had not completed 5 years of experience required under the rules, but completed it in the year 1988. The petitioner would contend

that he had made several representations to the respondents for consideration of appointment to the vacant post in place of Madan Gopal Sharma,

who had been appointed from Irrigation Department on ad hoc basis and yet another person Paras Ram Kalia had been appointed subject to

clearance from Social Welfare Department. Since the permanent vacancy had not been filled up with permanent appointments, the contention is

that the petitioner on completion of 5 years was entitled to be considered over the claims of the 5th respondent and Paras Ram Kalia, the 6th

respondent.

The petitioner would give his own justification for consideration as a person coming from Engineering Section by citing that he was appointed in

Geological wing and working in the same Section and hence, he was entitled to be considered for promotion. The government has issued a letter

dated 27.11.1989 stopping further promotions to ad hoc appointees made in the year 1985. Being the senior most Junior Agriculture Engineer, the

petitioner was entitled to consideration for promotion from the time when he had completed 5 years of service. When the selection was held for

appointment to the posts of Assistant Geologists, petitioner would contend that some Sectional Officers complained of discrimination and filed

CWP No. 11511 of 1993 and came by favourable consideration by orders from the Supreme Court.

The State has filed reply through the Deputy Director Agriculture. Referring to Rule 8 read with Rule 9 of the Punjab Agriculture Services

Class-II Rules, the promotion to the extent of 662/3% was only from the subordinate services which in the Geological Section included Technical

Assistant, who possessed academic and technical qualifications relating to the subject of Geology/Hydrology. A Sectional Officer re-designated as

Junior Agriculture Engineer would not be taken as from subordinate services for the purpose of promotion and the Government had clarified the

same by means of letter issued on 27.11.1989 (Annexure P5). A Sectional Officer could be considered for promotion only as Assistant Engineer

and not as Assistant Geologist. When the petitioner had made a request for consideration of promotion to the post of Assistant Geologist, there

were 7 posts. Some Sectional Officers were appointed as Assistant Geologists on ad hoc basis since there were not requisite number of eligible

persons from the subordinate services. It was, therefore, decided to fill up posts on ad hoc basis from amongst Sectional Officers having 15 years

of experience. The department''s effort to fill up posts directly of persons having geological qualification was also turned down by the government

and, therefore, the department had to resort to make stop gap arrangement. Even the persons, who had been promoted on ad hoc basis, were

retained as Assistant Geologists only till their own turn for promotion as Assistant Engineers came in their own line of promotion. As a matter of

fact, one R.C. Mittal and yet another person, who were from the subordinate services and who could in future be eligible for Assistant Geologist

posts had challenged even this ad hoc officiation by filing a writ petition in CWP No. 15753 of 1989. At the time of filing of written statement, it

appears the case was still pending.

It can be noticed that the petitioner''s contention is not that a Sectional Officer could be promoted at all times to Assistant Geologist by virtue of

Rule 8. On the other hand, the reliance is on Rule 9(2) that states that the officers of the Administrative, Statistical and Engineering categories shall

be eligible for promotion within the respective categories. The petitioner''s service as a Sectional Officer was under an Assistant Geologist,

Bathinda and later as Sectional Officer, JEE in Geological Section under an Assistant Geologist at Hoshiarpur. The contention is that when the

petitioner was performing duties in the Geological Section, he was entitled to consideration in the category in which he was performing his duty.

The petitioner has no case that any other Sectional Officer was considered for promotion as Assistant Geologist on regular basis. The

Government''s contention is that he was under the Geological Department only on ad hoc basis since there was not enough number of persons with

the requisite qualification for occupying the Assistant Geologist''s posts. Rule 9 cannot be used, in my view, to be read as in conflict with Rule 8. If

the petitioner would not qualify as belonging to subordinate services to be eligible for promotion as Assistant Geologist, then his officiation in the

Geological Section as Sectional Officer or appointment of some persons on ad hoc basis cannot give him a right of consideration for promotion as

Assistant Geologist. His own channel of promotion was stated to be only in the engineering line. I do not think the petitioner''s case would merit

consideration for promotion to the next higher post as Assistant Geologist. No intervention is possible in the writ petition. It deserves to be

dismissed and, accordingly, dismissed.