JUDGMENT - H.W. DHABE, J.:---The petitioner Nos. 1 to 13 have challenged in this petition the promotion of the respondents 3 to 29 on officiating basis from the posts of Assistant Shift Engineer to the posts of the Assistant Superintendent.

1. Briefly the facts are that the petitioners are all degree holders in Electrical / Mechanical Engineering of the recognised Universities. They were all originally appointed as Chargemen Grade I by an order dated 10-1-1977 in the service of the respondent No. 1 Maharashtra State Electricity Board (for short the Board) and posted at Thermal Power Station, Koradi. By an order dated 20-10-1978, they were promoted on ad hoc basis to the posts of the Assistant Shift Engineers in which posts they were given officiating promotions later on by an order dated 23-10-1980. The service history of the petitioners is given in Schedule 1 to the petition. It is not in dispute that as per regulations 5 and 8 of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board Classifications Recruitment Regulations, 1961 (for short the Recruitment Regulations) the posts of the Assistant Shift Engineers can be filled by departmental promotion form the cadre of the Chargeman Grade I am that for the said promotion, the degree holders require 3 years experience while the diploma holders require 6 years experience in the post of Chargemen Grade-I.

2. It is also not in dispute that the next promotion on the generation side from the post of Assistant Shift Engineer is to the post of Assistant Superintendent which during the relevant time carried the pay scale of Rs. 1275-65-2120. It may be seen that the promotion to the post of the Assistant Superintendent is made from the next below post of the Assistant Shift Engineer. For being eligible for promotion in the post of the Assistant Superintendent, the necessary qualifications prescribed in Schedule A-6 read with Regulations 5 and 8 the Recruitment Regulations are degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering with 5 years experience and the diploma in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering with 10 years experience in Planning, Design, Preparing Specifications, Drawing, estimates etc. Execution, construction, Testing and Commissioning, Operation and Maintenance connected with power stations of which 3 years should have been spent in a position of responsibility.

3. It is the case of the petitioners that the respondents 3 to 29 are diploma holders and that they joined the services of the Board between the years 1973 to 1976, as shown in Schedule II to the petition. It appears that the respondents 3 to 29 were later on promoted to the posts of the Assistant Shift Engineers like the petitioners. Vide order dated 9-2-1982, the respondents 3 to 29, who were then working as Assistant Shift Engineers, were further promoted along with others to officiate in the posts of Assistant Superintendent. It is the grievance of the petitioners that since the respondents 3 to 29 were originally appointed during the period from 1973 to 1976, none of them had an experience of 10 years prescribed for the diploma holders for promotion to the post of the Assistant Superintendent under the regulations of the Board referred to above.

4. It is necessary to notice at this stage that previously the post of the Assistant Superintendent was a selection post filled in on the basis of the criteria of merit. However, by the Resolution No. 1347 dated 6-1-1982, passed by the Board, the said post was declared a non selection post and was to be filled in on the basis of the principle of seniority subject to fitness. Accordingly, the correction slip No. 141 dated 5-6-1982 was issued to G.S.O. 112 dated 12-2-1962, which is annexed to this writ petition as Annexure-B by the petitioners. The petitioners have urged that since the correction slip was issued on 5-6-1982 i.e subsequent to the order of promotion of the respondents 3 to 29 dated 9-2-1982, the post of the Assistant Superintendent should have been treated as selection post on the d

Click Here to Read the rest of this document