The court established that once employees are regularized, they cannot be treated as fresh appointees based on subsequent examination results, especially when prior qualifications were valid.

JUDGMENT :

(PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA)

1. Admit. The respective advocates appearing for the respondents waive service of notice of admission.

2. The captioned group of Letters Patent Appeals are directed against the common judgement and order dated 03.08.2022 passed by the learned Single Judge in the captioned writ petitions. The writ petitions are filed by the Foresters, who are working under the appellant-Forest and Environment Department. The issue before the learned Single Judge raised by the writ petitioners was that the action of the respondent authorities - appellants in treating them as fresh appointees and also affecting their seniority.

3. Letters Patent Appeal No.129 of 2024 in Special Civil Application No.3813 of 2021 is taken as a lead matter with consent of the learned advocates.

BRIEF FACTS

4. The appellants of Letters Patent Appeal No.1 of 2024(writ petitioners of Special Civil Application No.7585 of 2020) have prayed for quashing and setting aside the order dated 11.06.2020 passed by the Chief Conservator of Forest, Junagadh circle, whereby he has issued the provisional seniority list wherein, the Foresters, who have not passed the exam of CCC, were also placed in such seniority. Thus, this writ petition has been filed by those Foresters against the Foresters, who have assailed the action of appellants in appointing them afresh since they did not clear the Course of Computer Concepts (“CCC” for short) examination, within the stipulated period.

5. The writ petitioners i.e the present respondents – Forest Guards, were appointed in the year 2007, 2008 and 2009, on contractual basis for 5 years on fixed pay. Except the respondents, Jitendra Bambhaniya, Bakotra Bhaveshkumar Virabhai, Der Lalitbhai Hakabhai and Mahesh Sureshbhai Parmar, all other obtained CCC Certificates issued by the Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University after their appointments, whereas they already possessed the CCC/DOEACC Certificates before their appointments. There is no dispute with regard to the validity and acceptability of CCC certificates. All of them were placed on regular pay-scale, after completion of 5 years of contractual period. Subsequently, when they were asked to again clear the CCC examination, they also took the examination and again obtained the CCC certificates in the year 2018-2019.

6. It appears that the appellant-authorities passed an order dated 11.06.2020 inter alia stating that the respondents were required to pass the CCC examination within a period of 2 years i.e. up to 04.09.2014 from the recognized Institute however, since they have passed such examination belatedly on 17.02.2019, their appointments are to be considered afresh from 17.02.2019 i.e. date of passing the CCC examination. Accordingly, individual orders were passed on 14.06.2021 by the office of Chief Conservator of Forest, Junagadh. The aforesaid order has been passed in view of the Resolution dated 23.10.2015 and after recording the conditions mentioned in the said Resolution vis a vis Resolution dated 04.06.2009, the respondents have been treated as fresh appointees and it is categorically observed that since they have not cleared the CCC examination within the stipulated period, as envisaged in the aforesaid Resolutions, they will lose their seniority and their seniority is required to be considered afresh from the date of passing such examination. The aforesaid order also refers to the earlier litigation i.e. Letters Patent Appeal Nos.330 of 2021 and 331 of 2021 before this Court. Such action of the Chief Conservator of Forest, Junagadh was questioned in the captioned writ petitions.

7. The learned Single Judge, after hearing the respective sides, has allowed the writ petitions except Special Civil Application No.7585 of 2020, which has been filed by the rival Foresters.

SUBMISSIONS BY LEARNED AGP

8. Learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr.Sahil Trivedi appearing for the appellants has submitted that the impugned judgement and order passed by t