Dhian Singh Negi vs State of H.P and Another

Deepak Gupta, J.—By means of this writ petition, the petitioner has prayed for the grant of following amongst other reliefs:

That the promotion of the Respondent No. 2 to the post of Principal, I.T.I,. made vide notification dated 27.7.1998 (Annexure A-13) may very kindly be quashed and set aside and the applicant may be ordered to be considered for promotion to the post of Principal, I.T.I. w.e.f. due date with all consequential benefits.

That the Respondent No. 1 may also be restrained from making any promotion from amongst Group Inspector/Foreman to the post of Principal, I.T.I. on ad hoc or regular basis by promoting the juniors to the applicant without considering him.

There is no manner of doubt that the petitioner was senior to the respondent No. 2. According to the respondent No. 1, at the relevant time, neither the petitioner nor the respondent No. 2 fulfilled the requisite criterion for promotion to the post of Principal, Industrial Training Institute (I.T.I.) because the petitioner had not passed CTI training whereas the respondent No. 2 did not have six years'' experience. The stand of the respondent-State is that since the respondent No. 2 was to retire on 31st July, 1998 and was to officiate as Principal only for four days taking a compassionate view of the matter, he was promoted as Principal on 27th July, 1998 and has in fact, retired on 31st July, 1998.

The petition in my view has become infructuous. Neither the petitioner nor the respondent No. 2 were admittedly eligible. If the petitioner is now eligible and the post is vacant, he shall be considered for promotion to the post of Principal on or before 31st December, 2010.

The writ petition is disposed of in the aforesaid terms. No orders as to costs.