IMPORTANT POINT
There is no mandate to fill vacancies invariably by the law existing on the date when the vacancy arose.

JUDGMENT

Uday Umesh Lalit, J.

1. Delay condoned. Leave granted.

2. These appeals challenge the common Judgment and Order dated 30.08.2012 passed by the Division Bench of Guwahati High Court, Agartala Bench dismissing Writ Appeal Nos.62, 63 and 64 of 2012 and confirming the decision of the Single Judge in Writ Petition (Civil) Nos.104, 105, 106, 153 and 181 of 2012.

3. The Tripura Civil Service Rules, 1967 (hereinafter referred to as the “Rules”) made in exercise of power conferred by Article 309 of the Constitution, deal inter alia with constitution of Tripura Civil Service and its classification. Part III deals with “Method of Recruitment” while Part-V deals with “Recruitment by Selection”. Rule 13 contemplates constitution of a “Selection Committee” to consider from time to time the cases of officers eligible to be considered for selection. Under Schedule IV to the Rules, names of posts are set out which are feeder posts for Tripura Civil Service.

4. State of Tripura was desirous of amending the aforesaid Schedule IV by including certain other posts as feeder posts in “Group A” and “Group B” and a proposal to that effect was forwarded to Tripura Public Service Commission on 23.08.2011. The Commission accepted the proposal vide its communication dated 26.09.2011. On 24.11.2011, in pursuance of Rule 13 of the Rules, a Selection Committee was constituted for considering cases of eligible officers holding feeder posts in “Group A” and “Group B” of Schedule IV of the Rules for appointment to the post of Tripura Civil Service Gr.II against promotional quota. On 24.12.2011 a Notification dated 19.12.2011 was published in the Gazette amending the Rules by 28th Amendment including additional posts in Group A and Group B of Schedule IV to the Rules, which was in conformity with the proposal accepted by the Commission.

5. Soon thereafter, a communication was addressed by General Administration (Personnel & Training) Department of State of Tripura to all the concerned departments that information/particulars of all eligible officers holding feeder posts of TCS (Groups-A&B) as amended by 28th Amendment be sent to the Department for taking necessary action.

6. The action on part of State of Tripura in relying upon the amended Rules and thereby expanding the feeder posts was immediately challenged by 22 interested candidates by filing Writ Petition Nos.104, 105, 106, 153 and 181 of 2012. It was submitted that the Notification dated 24.11.2011 having constituted a Selection Committee for filling up posts of TCS Gr.-II against promotional quota and information/particulars of eligible officers having already been called for, 28th Amendment effected in December, 2011 could not be pressed into service; that the instant selection ought to be governed by pre-amendment situation and as such a direction be issued to the State to confine the selection to those categories which were mentioned in Schedule IV to the Rules as they existed before the amendment. The Advocate General appearing for the State relied upon certain decisions of this Court including Deepak Agarwal & Anr. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Others, (2011) 6 SCC 725 to contend that a vacancy ought to be filled in terms of the amended Rules. The Single Judge of the High Court allowed the petitions holding that the selection in the present case ought to be undertaken in terms of pre-amended Rules.

7. The aforesaid decision was questioned by interested candidates, who as a result of the 28th Amendment were entitled to be considered, by filing Writ Appeal Nos.62, 63 and 64 of 2012. These appeals were dismissed by the Division Bench of the High Court at the preliminary stage. The submission that the Single Judge had not considered the ratio of the decision of this Court in Deepak Agarwal (supra) was dealt with by the Division Bench as under:

“17. Mr. Bhowmik has tried to convince us that though the learned Single Judge took note of Deepak Agarwal (supra), but did not give any reason why the ra