JUDGMENT :

1. By way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioners have filed this petition for a prayer that a direction be issued to the respondents to grant promotion to the petitioners to the post of Range Forest Officers and give consequential benefits of seniority and other benefits.

2. Facts in brief would indicate that the petitioners were appointed as Foresters in the Year 2008 on a fixed pay basis. On completion of 5 years in the year 2013 they were placed in the regular pay scale.

3. It is the case of the petitioners that by a letter dated 03.06/07.2014 departmental examinations for the post of Range Forest Officers was scheduled on and from 12.07.2014 to 14.07.2014. Holding requisite qualifications the petitioners appeared and an endorsement was accordingly made in the service books of the petitioners of having passed the said examinations in the results declared on 20.06.2015.

4. It is the case of the petitioners that in the seniority list of Foresters the names of the petitioners appear at serial numbers 3483 and 3481 respectively and by various orders of promotions granted to Foresters below the petitioners in the Seniority List promotion to the post of Range Forest Officers have been made whereas the petitioners are not promoted.

5. The Recruitment Rules for the purposes of promotion to the post of Range Forest Officers known as the Range Forest Officer, Recruitment Rules, 2008 provide for passing of prescribed departmental examinations that the petitioners have passed. The Range Forest Officer, Class-II (Departmental Examination) Rules, 2018 which have come into force shall not apply to the case of the petitioners who have passed the examinations in the year 2014.

6. Mr K.B.Pujara learned advocate appearing with Mr.R.D.Kinariwala learned advocate for the petitioners would submit that the petitioners admittedly have passed the examinations for promotion to the post of Range Forest Officers as is clearly stated in the communication dated 03.06/07.2014. He would submit that persons below the petitioners for example one Smt. K.V. Khambla onwards at Serial No.70 who are promoted as Range Forest Officers are below the petitioners and therefore the petitioners are entitled to promotion the post of Range Forest Officers they having passed the departmental examinations and being senior to these incumbents. He has also relied on orders of promotion dated 15.05.2019 where Foresters at Serial No.3492 and 3468 are promoted as Range Forest Officers and they figure below the petitioners in the seniority list of Foresters.

7. The Results of the Examination declared in the year 2015 and the endorsements in the service book clearly indicate that the petitioners have passed the prescribed examination and therefore the petitioners are entitled to the promotion to the post of Range Forest Officers from the date their juniors are so promoted.

8. Mr.Pujara would then submit that pursuant to the affidavit in reply filed earlier based on which it was the stand of the State that the examinations which the petitioners had passed were Departmental Examinations for promotion to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests pursuant to the rules called the Gujarat Forest Department Forest Officers (Examination) Rules, 2009 and was therefore not the requisite departmental examinations is a misconceived argument.

9. Mr Pujara would submit that this Court had therefore passed a detailed order on 17.12.2021 pursuant to which an additional affidavit has been filed refuting the claim of the petitioners and submitting that one Mr.Bhutadiya had appeared in the examinations in the year 2018 pursuant to the 2018 Rules. He would submit that the petitioners too had with protest appeared in the examinations as did Mr.Bhutadiya in the examinations as per the 2018 Rules however their promotion ought to have been given admittedly as is evident from the Form A annexed to the reply that several persons between 2009 to 2018 were given