Krishan Kumar Sangwan vs State of Haryana and Another

Augustine George Masih, J.—Petitioner has approached this Court praying for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing respondents to finalize the provisional/tentative inter-se seniority list of Assistants as it stood on 01.01.2009 (Annexure P-6) in accordance with law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Ajit Singh Januja and others Vs. State of Punjab and others, and as per the instructions dated 14.10.1999 (Annexure P-1) issued by the Government of Haryana giving effect to the said judgment. Reliance has also been placed on the judgment passed by this Court in CWP No. 5956 of 2008 titled as Charan Dass vs. State of Haryana, decided on 18.11.2008 (Annexure P-2) as also the judgment passed by this Court in CWP No. 17280 of 2011 titled as Prem Kumar Verma and others vs. State of Haryana, decided on 07.08.2012 (Annexure P-5) wherein the instructions dated 16.3.2006, which granted accelerated seniority to the Scheduled Caste employees as a consequence of promotion under the reservation policy, stand quashed being ultra vires of the Constitution and counter to the dictum in M. Nagaraj and Others Vs. Union of India (UOI) and Others, with a further prayer that the petitioner be granted the consequential benefits of stepping up of his pay equal to that of his junior respondent No. 2-Ajit Singh, Assistant, who had been promoted prior to the petitioner despite he being junior only on the basis of accelerated promotion as he belongs to the reserved category whereas the petitioner belongs to the General Category. Claiming the above-mentioned benefit, petitioner has served a legal notice dated 05.10.2012 (Annexure P-8) upon respondent No. 1 but till date no decision thereon has been taken or conveyed to the petitioner.

Counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner, at this stage, would be satisfied if a direction is issued to respondent No. 1-Chief Secretary to Government of Haryana, Haryana Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh to consider and decide the legal notice dated 05.10.2012 (Annexure P-8) within some specified time.

Without going into merits of the case or commenting thereon, the present writ petition is disposed of with a direction to respondent No. 1-Chief Secretary to Government of Haryana, Haryana Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh to consider and decide the legal notice dated 05.10.2012 (Annexure P-8) within a period of four months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. The decision so taken be conveyed to the petitioner forthwith. If the petitioner is held entitled to the claim made by him through his legal notice, consequential benefits be released to him within a further period of two months. In case the claim of the petitioner is not to be accepted, the same shall be done by passing a speaking order. Decision so taken be conveyed to the petitioner forthwith.