IMPORTANT POINT
Clarificatory order, equating diploma awarded by State Board of Technical Education with diploma awarded by recognised university, issued by Government to Services Rules framed under Proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution cannot be treated as amending or altering Service Rules so to hold it not valid.

JUDGMENT

K.G. Balakrishnan, J.-Leave granted.

2. Aggrieved by the judgment of the Division Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh in C.W.P. No. 9655 of 1999 and C.W.P. No. 15317 of 1999, the present appeals are filed by the party respondents and the State of Haryana respectively. By the impugned judgment, the Division Bench held that the contesting party respondents (appellants in the civil appeals arising from SLP (Civil) Nos. 4341-42 of 2000) were not entitled to be promoted as Executive Engineers and that the claim of the petitioner in the writ petitions shall be considered.

3. Initially, Satish Kumar Kakkar, the first respondent in these appeals, filed a writ petition (C.W.P. No. 9655 of 1999) claiming that he alone was entitled to be promoted as Executive Engineer and contended that the third respondent therein, namely, O.P. Lather, then working as Asstt. Engineer, lacked the requisite educational qualification for promotion as Executive Engineer. The Division Bench held that the said third respondent did not have the requisite qualification for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer and directed that the post of Executive Engineer be filled up in accordance with the Rules. Subsequent to this judgment, the Govt. of Haryana issued an executive order on 7th October, 1999 whereby it was clarified that the Three Years Diploma in Electrical Engineering, awarded by the State Board of Technical Education, Haryana, would be treated as equivalent to Diploma in Electrical Engineering from a recognised university. Consequently, the appellants herein, namely, O.P. Lather, P.D. Sharma and Daya Nand were promoted to the posts of Executive Engineer by proceedings dated 26th October, 1999. The order passed by the Govt. of Haryana on 26th October, 1999, was challenged by Satish Kumar Kakkar in a writ petition (C.W.P. No. 15317 of 1999) contending that none of them possessed the requisite qualification for being promoted as Executive Engineer and the Division Bench of the High Court accepted his contention and quashed the promotions. The Division Bench also directed to consider the claim of the first respondent herein for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer. Judgments in these two writ petitions are challenged before us.

4. As per Rules framed by the State of Haryana under Proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution, the post of Executive Engineer would be filled up by direct recruitment as well as by promotion. The relevant portion of the "Haryana Electrical Inspectorate (Group-A) Service Rules, 1997" is column 3 of Appendix B of the said Rules. The same is to the following effect :

S.No.

Designation of posts

Academic qualifications and experience, if any, for direct recruitment

Academic qualifications and experience, if any, for appointment other than by direct recruitment

S.No.

Designation of posts

Academic qualifications and experience, if any, for direct recruitment

Academic qualifications and experience, if any, for appointment other than by direct recruitment

2. Executive Engineer

1. Degree in Electrical Engineering from a recognised University or its equivalent.

2. Should have been regularly engaged for a period of at least eight years in the practice of electrical engineering of which not less than two years should have been spent in an electrical or mechanical engineering workshop or in generation, transmission or distribution of electricity or in the administration of Indian Electricity Act, 1910, and the Rules made thereunder in a position of responsibility.

1. Degree or Diploma in Electrical Engineering from a recognised University or its equivalent.

(emphasis supplied)

2. Eight years experience as Asstt. Engineer.

S.No.

Designation of posts

Academic qualifications and experience, if any, for direct recruitment

Academic qualifications and experience, if any, for appointment other than by direct recruitment

2. Executive Engineer

1. Degree in Electrical Engineering from a recognised Universi