IMPORTANT POINT
Appellant s case is based on the assumed seniority over respondents 2 and 3 which is not correct in fact or under law.

Headnote:Service Jurisprudence-Claim of appellant against unfair, biased and discriminatory treatment in case of promotion viz-a-viz OP Nos. 2 and 3 who were alleged to be junior to him-Rejected by State Administrative Tribunal-Appeal against to Supreme Court-Whether Tribunal rightly dismissed the transferred writ petition of the appellant? (Yes)-Appeal dismissed.
Held : From the case pleaded and the reliefs sought in the writ petition, it is clear that the grievances made by the appellant relate to the period from his very entry into service and at different stages during the period of his service. He has made a grievance that by treating 1959 to be the year of his entry into service he lost a period of four years of service as a consequence of which he lost his seniority over respondents 2 and 3. Thereafter he has made the grievance about upgrading the scale of pay of Lecturer-Mining in 1960, giving respondent No. 3 Class-I scale of pay in 1961, his appointment to the post of Principal, Orissa School of Mining Engineering, Keonjhar done by the Public Service Commission in 1962, his appointment as Joint Director with effect from 1968 and finally his appointment as Director of Technical Education and Training in 1980. As noted earlier, the writ petition was filed in the High Court in 1980 which subsequently stood transferred to the SAT. By then more than two decades had elapsed since the appellant s entry to the service. Appointment to higher posts of Principal of the School of Mining Engineering, Joint Director of Industries and Director of Industries were made in consultation with the Public Service Commission and appellant s name was sent to the Commission when the appointment to the posts of Joint Director and Director were considered. The Commission did not consider him suitable for appointment to the said posts. For the post of Principal, the appellant was not possessed of the prescribed qualification of a Degree in Mining Engineering and therefore, the question of considering him for appointment did not arise. It cannot be disputed that the State Government had the power to prescribe proper qualification for the post keeping in view the job requirement, nature of work to be handled by the holder of the post and other relevant factors. Therefore, no exception could be taken to the order of the State Government prescribing a Degree in Mining Engineering as eligibility qualification for the post of Principal, Orissa School of Mining Engineering. It may be noted here that the entire case of the appellant is based on his assumed seniority over respondents 2 and 3. But it was not his case that appointment/promotion to the higher posts noted earlier was to be made solely on the basis of seniority. It is trite law that in making appointment to higher posts merit assumes importance. Therefore, even assuming that the appellant was senior to respondents 2 and 3 thereby he could not have claimed as matter of right to be appointed to the higher posts. In the context of the facts and circumstances of the case, the Tribunal cannot be faulted for having come to the conclusion that the writ petition filed by the appellant was devoid of merit. Further, any interference in the matter at such a belated stage would have resulted in disturbing chain of settled positions and would have created confusion and complications in the cadre. Therefore, the Tribunal rightly dismissed the writ petition filed by the appellant. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed, but in the circumstances of the case without any order for costs. (Paras 8 and 9)

JUDGMENT

D.P. Mohapatra, J.-The appellant, Shri P.S.N. Rao, who a Joint Director of Industries, then working as Principal, College of Accountancy and Management Studies at Cuttack filed the writ petition OJC No. 1621 of 1980 in the High Court of Orissa against the Government of Orissa represented by Secretary to Govt., Industries Department, Shri R.J. Jachuck, Joint Director of Industries, then working as General Manager, IPICOL, Orissa and Shri Khageswar Das, Director of Technical Education and Training, Orissa seeking the reliefs inter alia :-

"(i) Quashing of the Government Orders appointing the opposite parties 2 and 3 (described as such in the writ petition) to Class-I (Jr.) grade and to Class-I (Sr) grade posts earlier than the petitioner s appointment to these grades;

(ii) Quashing of the Industries Department notification No. 14016-I dated 17/20th August, 1960 in which the pay scale of the post of lecturer (Mining) was upgraded from the scale of pay of Rs. 200-700/- to the scale of pay of Rs. 300-860/-;

(iii) Quashing of the appointment of opposite party No. 3 to the class-I pay scale of Rs. 300-860/- vide Industries Department notification No. 9659-I dated 20th June, 1961 without consideration of the case of the others including the petitioner;

(iv) The Public Service Commission advertisement No. 9 dated 29th June, 1962 in which only bachelor s degree in Mining Engineering was prescribed as the required qualification for the post of Principal, Orissa School of Mining Engineering, Keonjhar;

(v) Quashing of the Industries Department notification No. 20290-I dated 21.12.1961 in which the opposite party No. 3 was appointed as the Principal of the School of Mining Engineering, Keonjhar on ad hoc basis and Industries Department notification No. 23352-I, dated 10.12.1962 in which the said opposite party No. 3 s appointment as Principal was regularized;

(vi) Quashing of the Industries Department order in which the post of Principal, Orissa School of Mining Engineering, Keonjhar was upgraded to the rank of Joint Director retrospectively and Govt. order promoting opposite party No. 3 to that post with effect from 15.10.1968;

(vii) Quashing of the Industries Department notification No. 6400-I dated 12.3.1980 in which the opposite party No. 3 was appointed as Director of Technical Education and Training without consideration of the case of the petitioner;

(viii) For issue of a writ of mandamus directing the opposite party No. 1 to restore petitioner s seniority over opposite party No. 2 and opposite party No. 3 and redetermine the petitioner s seniority in each class and grade;

(ix) For issue of a writ of mandamus directing the opposite party No. 1 to consider the case of the petitioner for promotion to the post of Joint Director of Industries from 15.10.1968 and to the post of Director of Technical Education and Training from 12.3.1980 with all consequential service benefits etc."

2. The gist of the case of the petitioner (in the writ petition) set out in the writ petition was that on being selected by the Orissa Public Service Commission, he was appointed as an Assistant Engineer on 14.10.1955 in Class-II of Orissa Engineering Service in the pay scale of Rs. 200-700 and he joined the post on 18.10.1955. The opposite party No. 2 (in the writ petition) was appointed as a District Industries Officer in the Industries Department in Class-II of the State service in the scale of Rs. 200-700 and he joined the post on 8th March, 1957. The opposite party No. 3 was appointed as a lecturer in mining in the Orissa School of Mining Engineering, Keonjhar on 6th February, 1960 also in the scale of Rs. 200-700. The petitioner and the opposite parties Nos. 2 and 3 who were appointed in the same scale were placed under the administrative control of three different departments; while the petitioner was pl

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2002 Supreme(SC) 723

IMPORTANT POINTAppellant s case is based on the assumed seniority over respondents 2 and 3 which is not correct in fact or under law.

IMPORTANT POINT
Appellant s case is based on the assumed seniority over respondents 2 and 3 which is not correct in fact or under law.