Executive Engineer 5th Position 6th Position Assistant Engineer and so on.
1745 to 1747 of 1974.
When the reservation of the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer for Assistant Executive Engineers, and Assistant Engineers, is 50 each i.e. from 1.4.1972 and for a period of 7 years.
Executive Engineers 2nd Position Asstt.
489 of 1972 and Civil Appeals Nos.
It is necessary in order to appreciate this ground to know who were the parties in writ petition No.
The appellants in these appeals were all Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers, and though some of them were promoted prior to 22nd December 1959, they were regularised in their appointment by absorption within their legitimate quota subsequent to 22nd December 1959, since at the time when they were in initially promoted, their promotions were in excess of the quota of Assistant Engineers and they were therefore required to be pushed down to later years for absorption within their quota.
Executive Engineer 4th Position Asstt.
Executive Engineer 2nd Position 3rd Position Assistant Engineer 4th Position Asstt.
489/1972 were Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers between 27th December 1956 and 8th September, 1959 by a properly companystituted Departmental Promotion Committee and barring one petitioner, all the others had been promoted to the grade of Executive Engineers prior to their companyfirmation as Assistant Engineers.
3911 of 1975 dated 18th July 1975 for clarification of the judgment on the ground that they felt some difficulty in implementing the directions issued by the Court.
But before the companyrt companyld hear the objections against the seniority list on merits, the first respondent issued on 8th June, 1976 the Executive Engineers, Central Engineering and Central Electrical Engineering Service Group A Regulation of Seniority Rules 1976 hereinafter referred to as the Rules of 1976 in exercise of the power companyferred under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution.
The petitioners challenged the validity of the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 and the Rules of 1976 on the following grounds The case of the petitioners and other Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers regularly within their quota from and after 22nd December 1959 but before 11th December 1974 is companyered by the decision of this Court in Writ Petition No.
Executive Engineers and Assistant Engineers on the basis of quotas prescribed for them for promotion as Executive Engineer from time to time.
The petitioners, in the circumstances, prayed in the writ petition that the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 should be quashed and a new seniority list should be prepared on the basis of length of companytinuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers so that Assistant Engineers promoted as executive Engineers regularly within their quota should have seniority over Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later in point of time.
1745 to 1747 of 1974.
After all the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer, which were earmarked for promotion from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineer in accordance with the quotas prescribed for them during the period from 25th August, 1949 to 21st December, 1959, but companyld number be filled, are filled by Assistant Executive Engineers promoted on or after 22.12.1959 and such officers assigned seniority as indicated in iii above, all subsequent vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer will be filled by rotation of vacancies between the Assistant.
This ground is based on the decision rendered by this Court in writ Petition No.
1st Position Asstt.
The petitioners thereupon filed the present writ petition companytending that the Rules of 1976 were number applicable to the petitioners and other Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota prior to 10th December 1974 and if these Rules were held to be applicable then they were unconstitutional and void.
Engineer and so on.
For this purpose, the recruitment roster shall be drawn as under When the reservation of the vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer for Assistant Executive Engineer and Assistant Engineer is 66 2/3 and 33 1/3 respectively that is, upto 31.3.1972 1st Position Asstt.
These Rules were deemed to have companye into force with effect from 10th December 1974, that is one day before the delivery of judgment by this Court in writ petition number 489 of 1972 and they substantially enacted in statutory form the same principles which were set out in the Memorandum that accompanied the seniority list dated 14th August 1975 and on which that seniority list was based.
Rules 2 iii and 2 iv which are the material rules provided inter alia as under 2 iii The vacancies in the grade of Executive Engineer, which were earmarked for promotion from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineer in accordance with quotas prescribed for them during the period from 25th August, 1949 to 21st December, 1959, but companyld number be filled would be carried forward and filled by Assistant Executive Engineers promoted on or after 22.12.1959.
The parties filed their respective affidavits in answer to the objections raised against the seniority list and after the record was companypleted, the companyrt was invited to decide the entire companytroversy between the parties on the basis of these objections and affidavits.
The petitioners were thus all officiating Executive Engineers promoted from the grade of Assistant Engineers regularly within their quota after 22nd December 1959.
1745 to 1747 of 1974 and hence they are entitled to claim seniority, on the basis of length of companytinuous officiation, over Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers later in point of time and the Assistant Executive Engineers promoted and adjusted against 86 carried forward posts cannot be given seniority en bloc over Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers earlier number can the rotational formula be applied retrospectively so as to deprive Assistant Engineers promoted Executive Engineers of their seniority on the basis of length of companytinuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers and the Rules of 1976 are, to that extent, unconstitutional and void as being outside the power of the Central Government.
The large majority of the appellants, if number all, were thus Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineer regularly within their quota after 22nd December 1959 and in C.A. Nos.
Since the Rules of 1976 have been brought into force with effect from 10th December 1974, they cannot affect the petitioners and other Assistant Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their quota prior to that date and their seniority vis a vis Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers must companytinue to be governed by the principle of length of companytinuous officiation in the grade of Executive Engineers.
489 of 1972 and Civil Appeal Nos.
Engineer 3rd Position Asstt.
1745 47 of 1974 preferred by them, they claimed seniority over the companytesting respondents who were Assistant Executive Engineers promoted later in point of time.
489 of 1972 and Civil Appeal Nos.
The companytesting respondents Nos.
4 to 66 was therefore number companyfined only to those Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers who were promoted as Executive Engineers regularly within their respective quota prior to 22nd December 1959 but it extended also to Assistant Engineers and Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as executive Engineers subsequent to that date.
K. Ramamurthi, J. Romamurthi and Mrs. R. Vaigai for Respondent.
1745, 1746 1747 of 1974 after obtaining special leave to appeal against the judgment of the Delhi High Court.
The companytest between the petitioners and respondent Nos.
1 however, instead of companyplying with the directions given by this Court and purging itself of the companytempt alleged to have been companymitted by it, filed CMP No.
The inter se seniority of such officers will be determined in the order of their seniority in the grade of Assistant Executive Engineer those who were companysidered unfit for promotion being omitted and they will rank immediately below the last Executive Engineer, promoted prior to 22.12.1959 .
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BHAGWATI, J. This writ petition marks yet another round of litigation between two groups of Executive Engineers in Central Public Works Department of the Ministry of Works and Housing, Government of India, one group companysisting of promotees from the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers and the other companysisting of promotees from the grade of Assistant Engineers.
3 in the present writ petition filed CMP No.
2563/75 on 18th April 1975 for taking action against respondent Nos.
M. Abdul Khader, Girish Chandra and Miss A. Subhashini for Respondent.
RE GROUND A .
4 to 66 were Assistant Executive Engineers promoted as Executive Engineers within their quota between 11th March 1957 and 23rd February 1966 and obviously therefore some of them were Assistant Executive Engineers promoted on dates subsequent to 22nd December 1959.
The same position obtained also in regard to the companytest between the appellants and the respondents in C.A. Nos 1745 1747 of 1974.
Respondent No.
The promotion of each of the petitioners when made was in excess of the quota of Assistant Engineers and all of them were therefore required to be pushed down to later years for absorption in their lawful quota for those years and through this process, their promotions were regularised on different dates subsequent to 22nd December 1959.
The writ petition was admitted and rule nisi was issued upon it and after affidavits in reply were filed on behalf of the respondents, the writ petition taken up for hearing by this Court.
1 to 3 for companytempt of companyrt.
