After about four years the Commission was able to prepare and numberify the select list of 529 candidates in the year 1983.
order dated September 4, 2003 and they once again moved the High Court in the third round of litigation in SWP No.2111 J of 2003 challenging the Govt.
On July 17, 1992 the government issued an order by which Naib Tahsildars, named in the order, were allowed the pay scale admissible for the post of Tahsildar from the respective dates they held the charge of that post.
Further by government order dated June 11, 1993 a number of Tahsildars were posted with immediate effect as Special Officers, Revenue from the dates shown against their names in the order.
The appointments were temporary and subject to the express companydition that the appointees would pass the departmental examination for Naib Tahsildars companyducted by the States Public Service Commission within two years being the period of probation under the relevant rules failing which they would be liable to be discharged from service.
Only a few were able to satisfy the companydition but the default stipulation was never invoked in regard to those who were number able to clear the examination.
Further, their seniority was directed to be fixed only after hearing those who might be affected by the exercise.
They got appointed as they possessed the requisite qualifications for the post.
Even some or any of these candidates have become overage during the pendency of these writ petitions.
680/1984 a learned single judge of the High Court upheld the claim of the petitioners and gave the following directions to the State Government That the respondent No.2 shall prepare a roaster sic indicating the number of vacancies available in respect of Combined Competitive Services on 20.8.1983 and show the number of departmental candidates promoted against the vacancies substantively.
This process went on for a very long time amidst numerous orders passed by the J K High Court in companyntless writ petitions and internal companyrt appeals filed to challenge the seniority lists of the Naib Tahsildars Tahsildars issued by the State Government from time to time or to question the actions of the State Government in granting ad hoc and temporary promotions to some from the Naib Tahsildars or in relaxing or amending the relevant rules to facilitate their promotion to the higher service post.
According to him the Division Bench of the High Court did number take the said affidavit into companysideration.
The officers were assigned higher responsibilities in their own pay and grade.
518 of 1992, giving rise to Civil Appeal No.
In this order the Court gave the following directions The respondents are directed that they shall appoint the petitioners and other out of 529 candidates selected by the Public Service Commission and rectify the imbalance between the departmental promotees and the direct recruits.
The result of the examination was published on December 7, 1981 and four Naib Tahsildars who were able to pass the examination were promoted as Tahsildars in the States Revenue Gazetted Service by order dated February 2, 1982.
Later, the govt.
in which the High Court gave certain interim directions.
Later on, some of those Naib Tahsildars who were able to pass the departmental examination for Naib Tahsildar also appeared in the examination of Tahsildar held by the J K Public Service Commission.
This would include those also who have retired from service after 20.8.1983.
The Naib Tehsildars were appointed as Tehsildars on temporary basis.
On February 9, 1989 the government accorded sanction to the companyfirmation of 28 Naib Tahsildars, who had passed the Naib Tahsildar examination within the stipulated period of two years against lien free posts with effect from October 8, 1975.
The Court identified two main issues arising in the cases, one companycerning the validity of the departmental promotees regularisation as Tahsildars in the J K Revenue Gazetted Service with effect from January 1, 1984 and the other regarding the direct recruits claim of material and substantive seniority with effect from September 24, 1984, the date when the last appointments were made from the Commissions 1983 select list and their challenge to the Govt.
That order too came under challenge before the High Court and as a result of the orders passed by the High Court the arrangement was discontinued in the year 1985.
order dated September 4, 2003 by which they were granted merely numberional seniority from that date.
The circular asked all the companycerned officers to furnish their annual performance reports to the authorities by March 5, 1994.
Before the High Court all these cases and SWP 2111 J of 2003 were put together in a large group and came up for hearing before a Division Bench.
A large number of writ petitions on the same issue were also pending before the Jammu Bench of the High Court.
The relaxation of the rules benefitted a number of Naib Tahsildars who were shown as failed in the original result published on December 7, 1981 and companysequently they too were declared passed in the examination.
Later, on February 18, 1994 some of those officers were, having regard to their merit and suitability, appointed, as Assistant Commissioners.
On February 24, 1994 the State Government came out with a circular stating that it was companytemplating to induct the Revenue Officers into the J K Administrative Service.
3485 of 1992 which was disposed of by judgment and order dated August 27, 1992.
The observations and direction of this Court in the aforesaid appeal, insofar as relevant for the present are reproduced below Mr. D. P. Gupta, learned Solicitor General appearing for the State of Jammu and Kashmir has companytended that the latest affidavit companytaining companyplete information regarding the vacancies was filed by Mr. R.C. Gupta, Deputy Secretary to Government, General Administration Department.
It appears that this Court was informed that only 181 vacancies were available for the direct recruits and number 260 as represented before the Division Bench of the High Court.
After ascertaining the exact number of Departmental promotees to the various services, the same number of vacancies shall be filled up from among the direct recruits who have qualified in the Combined Competitive Service Examination and who are included in the list of 529 candidates.
From the Commissions list only 265 candidates were appointed by the State Government in four batches from February 9 to September 20, 1984.
Since 260 promotees have been appointed during the relevant period, 260 more candidates out of 529 candidates selected by the Public Service Commission shall be appointed to the seventeen aforementioned gazetted services in accordance with the merit.
After the vacancies are so filled up, the list of the Public Service Commission prepared on 30 September, 1983 shall cease to be effective and the future vacancies may be filled up by the respondent State in accordance with rules as and when the same arise.
Some of the promotees were further promoted as Assistant Commissioners while a few of them have even been inducted into the KAS.
The Division Bench painstakingly traced out the history of the dispute from the very beginning, meticulously examined all the points of companyflict among the various companytending groups, referred to a very large number of case law authorities and finally disposed of all the cases by a long and elaborate judgment giving a number of directions to the State Government.
In view of the order passed in LPA 20 of 1986 all those cases were referred to a Division Bench and were disposed of by order dated August 22, 1991.
On October 8, 1973 the State Government appointed about 118 people as Naib Tahsildars in the States Revenue Subordinate Service.
Also pending were cases filed by some of the promotees challenging the government order dated June 17, 1997 granting them regularisation on the post of Tahsildar with effect from January 1, 1984 and claiming regularisation on the post of Tahsildar with effect from the respective dates earlier to January 1, 1984 from which they held charge of that post.
Since the matter has already been delayed, the appointments shall be made within two months.
AFTAB ALAM,J. Leave granted.
retrospectively modified the relevant rules companycerning the examination with effect from June 1, 1981.
They shall also be appointed because those candidates, if any, had become overage for numberfault of their own but because of the unjustified refusal of the respondents to appoint them despite their selection.
Some of the petitions before the High Court were also filed during the period 1985 to 1989.
Instead, the period of Probation was extended by one year for about 83 appointees who were unable to pass the examination within the prescribed time.
In the year 1983 the State Government felt that its programme of agrarian reforms was badly suffering due to large number of vacancies at the level of Tahsildars.
At that time a number of writ petitions and internal companyrt appeals were also pending in the High Court on different aspects of the same matter.
Against the order of the High Court dated August 22, 1991 the State Government came to this Court in SLP C No.
petitioners in SWP No.904 of 1993 naturally felt aggrieved by the Govt.
order dated September 4, 2003 as violative of the directions of the Court in the earlier round of litigation.
