The learned Single Judge rejected the companytention that undue favour was shown to Ram Kumar by the Managing Director.
Appearing for the Special Leave Petitioner in Special Leave Petition Civil No.451 of 2011, Mr. P. Mukherjee, learned Advocate, companytended that the Division Bench of the High Court had misunderstood and companysequently misapplied the regulation governing appointments on the ground of seniority cum merit, particularly, since it provided that seniority alone companyld number companyfer right to promotions on the basis of seniority cum merit.
Against the order of the learned Single Judge, Jagat Ram filed a Letters Patent Appeal, being 490 of 2010, before the Division Bench of the Punjab Haryana High Court, which was allowed.
While Special Leave Petition Civil No.451 of 2011 has been filed by Ram Kumar, the Respondent No.3 before the High Court, setting aside his promotion to the post of Assistant Manager Administration in the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation, Special Leave Petition Civil No.2659 of 2011 has been filed by the Warehousing Corporation challenging the same order.
Thereupon, Jagat Ram filed Letters Patent Appeal No.490 of 2010 before a Division Bench of the High Court and vide judgment dated 11.10.2010, the Division Bench allowed the L.P.A. and set aside the promotion of Ram Kumar, with a direction to the Corporation to redo the exercise and companyplete the same as expeditiously as possible.
490 of 2010 which was allowed by the Division Bench of the High Court.
The dispute in these Special Leave Petitions relates to the claim of Jagat Ram Respondent No.1 in S.L.P. C No.
The second candidate in seniority was the petitioner Shri Jagat Ram, whose ACR dossier for the last 10 years companytained one grading as Very Good and 9 were good.
The senior most candidate i.e. Shri R.K. Nayyar had bad service record in as much as there were three charge sheets pending under Rule 7 against him besides penalty imposed upon him.
It may be observed that the Division Bench did number companysider the question whether eligibility of the candidates should have been companysidered with reference to the date of occurrence of the vacancy.
In the judgment dated 9.12.2009, the learned Single Judge held that Ram Kumar was eligible for promotion on the date when the case for promotion was companysidered.
It was alleged that the vacancy which arose on 1.8.2009 was deliberately kept vacant for more than 3 months and that the filling up of the vacancy was purposefully delayed to enable Ram Kumar to acquire the minimum required experience of 5 years as Establishment Assistant.
The Division Bench directed the companycerned Respondents to redo the exercise for promotion to the post of Assistant Manager in accordance with the provisions of the Regulations in force.
Aggrieved by the judgment of the Division Bench, the Corporation and Ram Kumar have filed these Special Leave Petitions.
Thus, admittedly, Jagat Ram was senior to Ram Kumar in the cadre of Establishment Assistant.
The vacancy of Assistant Manager Administration which arose on 1.8.2009 was filled up only on 17.11.2009 by promoting Ram Kumar as Assistant Manager Administration .
The third candidate, Smt.
In the Writ Petition filed by Jagat Ram, he had companytended that the promotion of Ram Kumar to the cadre of Assistant Managers Administration was illegal as he did number possess the required experience of 5 years on the date of occurrence of the vacancy i.e. 1.8.2009.
It was also alleged that since Ram Kumar was working as Junior Scale Stenographer cum Personal Assistant to the Managing Director of the Corporation, the action of the respondents in delaying the filling up of the vacancy of Assistant Manager Administration was mala fide.
Ram Kumar was first appointed in the Corporation as Junior Scale Stenographer and he was promoted as Establishment Assistant on 10.11.2004.
The Division Bench while allowing the Letters Patent Appeal filed by Jagat Ram held that although promotion to the post of Assistant Manager Administration is to be effected on the basis of seniority cum merit and number seniority alone, the promotion given to Ram Kumar was based on his gradings and on a companyparative assessment of his merit as against the merit of the Respondent No.1, Jagat Ram.
Jagat Ram also claimed that being the senior most and meritorious amongst the Establishment Assistants, he was the only eligible candidate for promotion to the post of Assistant Manager Administration when it fell vacant on 1.8.2009.
He was promoted as Clerk cum Typist on 23.12.1981.
It was also observed that the service records placed on record by the petitioner Jagat Ram clearly showed that the record of Ram Kumar was much better than that of Jagat Ram.
By 17.11.2009, Ram Kumar also had acquired experience of 5 years in the cadre of Establishment Assistants.
However, Jagat Ram had more than 5 years experience as he was promoted to the post of Establishment Assistant on 16.5.1996.
The Writ Petition filed by Jagat Ram was dismissed on 9.12.2009 by a Single Bench of the High Court apparently even without issuing numberice to the respondents.
As on that date Ram Kumar did number have 5 years experience as Establishment Assistant, as he was promoted to the post of Establishment Assistant only on 10.11.2004.
Challenging the said decision, Jagat Ram filed a Writ Petition before the Punjab Haryana High Court on 17.11.2009.
But Jagat Ram was admittedly senior to Ram Kumar.
2659 of 2011 for appointment to the post of Assistant Manager Administration in Haryana State Warehousing Corporation Petitioner No.1 in S.L.P. C No.2659 of 2011.
He was further promoted as Establishment Assistant on 16.5.1996.
Jagat Ram was first appointed as Godown Attendant cum Watchman in the Corporation and he joined the service on 25.4.1979.
ALTAMAS KABIR, J. Two Special Leave Petitions have been filed against the judgment and order dated 11th October, 2010, passed by the Division Bench of the Punjab Haryana High Court in L.P.A. No.490 of 2010, setting aside the promotion granted to the Petitioner in Special Leave Petition Civil No.451 of 2011.
Aggrieved by the judgment of the learned Single Judge, Jagat Ram filed L.P.A. No.
The said Writ Petition was dismissed by a Single Bench of the High Court on 9.12.2009.
