The main legal point established is that an employee is entitled to arrears of salary and all consequential benefits for delayed promotions, and the authorities must consider the employee for regular promotion with all consequential benefits.

1. Petitioner has retired on 29.2.2004 as Chief Engineer Current-charge i.e. in his own scale of Superintending Engineer.

2. This application has been filed by the petitioner for shifting of his date of promotion to the post of Executive Engineer and Superintending Engineer, for correction in the gradation list and for consequential financial benefits including payment of salary from the corrected date of promotion on these posts. Further prayer of the petitioner is for regular promotion to the post of Chief Engineer from the date his juniors have been given promotion and for consequential benefits including fixation of pension and payment of arrears of pension.

3. Petitioner joined as Junior Engineer in Bihar Subordinate Engineering Service in Water Resources Deparment, Government of Bihar on 31.1.1966. Petitioners place in the final gradation list of Junior Engineers was at sI. no. 1676. He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Engineer in Schedule Tribe category on regular basis with effect from 27.12.1978. After much controversy gradation list of Assistant Engineers was finalised in which petitioner was at SI. No. 2368 and his immediate junior Sri Bindeshwar Das (S.C. category) was at SI. No. 2369. Ramadhar Prasad also belonging to S.C. category was just immediate senior to the petitioner at SI. No. 2367. Bindeshwar Das was promoted to the rank of Executive Engineer with effect from 27.12.1986. Juniors to the petitioner Bolawan Uraon and Jagannath Hansada at SI. No. 2005 and 2010 in the gradation list were also promoted to the post of Executive Engineer with effect from 27.12.1986, but the petitioner was not promoted.

4. Petitioners prayer is for giving promotion to the post of Executive Engineer with effect from 27.12.1986 with all consequential benefits. Since the date of petitioners promotion in the rank of Executive Engineer was delayed, in the gradation list of the Executive Engineer he was not placed correctly. Prayer is also for correction in the gradation list and putting his name in between SI. No. 230 and SI. No. 231 instead at SI. No. 352. Further case of the petitioner is that since the promotion to the post of Executive Engineer was delayed, he was not given promotion to the rank of Superintending Engineer with effect from 27.12.1993 i.e. the date juniors to the petitioner were promoted. Petitioner was promoted to the post of Superintending Engineer vide Memo No. 3113 dated 11.6.1996. Prayer of the petitioner is that he should be promoted to the rank of Superintending Engineer in ST. quota, with effect from 27.12.1993 instead from 30.12.1995, with all consequential benefits from the shifted date of promotion. In the gradation list of Superintending Engineer published by Government order bearing Memo No. 7725 dated 15.11.2002 petitioner has not been placed correctly as such his prayer is to place him in between SI. Nos. 208 and 209 in order to reflect his seniority, then at SI. No. 251.

5. Petitioner was given delayed promotion to the post of Executive Engineer and Superintending Engineer. Thereafter he was posted in current charge of Chief Engineer vide Government Notification bearing Memo No. 478 dated 19.1.2002 and posted as In-charge Chief Engineer, Water Resources Department, Siwan. He retired as Incharge Chief Engineer, without being promoted to the post of Chief Engineer on regular basis. His service records were scrutinised for regular promotion to the post of Chief Engineer but was kept on waiting for regular promotion and retired on 29.2.2004. Juniors to the petitioner were given regular promotion to the post of Chief Engineer but his case was not considered though it was due and should have been allowed prior to his superannuation.

6. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent nos. 2 and 3 it has been admitted that the petitioner was entitled for his promotion to the post of Superintending Engineer with effect from 27.12.1993 and to the post of Executive Engineer with effect from