In this application under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioner has prayed for a direction on the respondents to promote him to the post of Executive Engineer (Drilling) with effect from 1.1.85 instead of 1.1.90 and to consider the promotion of the petitioner to the next post of Deputy Superintending Engineer (D) by treating his date of promotion to the post of Executive Engineer (Drilling) as 1.1.1985.

2. The relevant facts briefly are that the petitioner joined the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (for short 'the ONGC') as a Technical Grade II employee on 15.12.65. Thereafter, he was appointed as Assistant Driller in the ONGC and he joined as such Assistant Driller in the Mehsana Project of the ONGC in Gujrat on 9.12.75. In July, 1979 he was transferred to Calcutta and continued to work as Assistant Driller at Calcutta with effect from 13.7.79. He was promoted to the post of Driller by order dated 9.1 1.81 and he joined in the promotional post of Driller in the West Bengal Project, Calcutta on 15.6.82. While he was working in West Bengal Project, Calcutta a departmental proceeding was initiated against him by office memorandum dated 25.4.84 and the petitioner challenged the said departmental proceeding in a writ petition before the Calcutta High Court. In the said departmental proceeding initially a penalty of censure was imposed on the petitioner but thereafter by office memorandum dated 7.4.87 the penalty of censure converted With a warning and finally the departmental proceeding was dropped on 11.10.88. In the meantime, the petitioner was considered for appointment to the post of Senior Driller (Executive Engineer) in interviews held on 6.9.86 and 10.12.87, but the petitioner was not appointed and instead some Drillers who were juniors to the petitioner in service were appointed as Senior Driller. The petitioner made several representations to the Director (Personnel) and the Chairman of ONGC, but no orders were passed on the said representations. Finally on 24.8.90 the petitioner appeared before the Departmental Promotion Committee (for short the DPC) and on the recommendation of the DPC the petitioner was promoted to the post of Driller by order dated 20.9.90. The petitioner then made representations to the Chairman of the ONGC stating all relevant facts and making a prayer that his promotion to the post of Senior Driller (Executive Engineer) should be treated as effective from 1.1.85 and not from 1.1.90. Since no orders were passed on the said representations the petitioner has filed the present writ petition for appropriate reliefs.

3. At the hearing, Mr. BK Goswami assisted by Mr. RL Yadav, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted relying on the decision of the Supreme Court in Union of India & others vs. KV Jankiraman & others, (1991) 4 SCC 109 that pending completion of the departmental proceeding against the petitioner initiated by the office memorandum dated 25.4.84, the Sealed Cover Procedure for promotion should have been adopted by the authorities and since the departmental proceeding against the petitioner was finally dropped on 11.10.88, the recommend­ation of the DPC in the sealed cover relating to promotion of the petitioner should have been given effect to by the authorities and if the DPC had recommended the petitioner for promotion to the post of Senior Driller (Executive Engineer), he should have been promoted to the post of Executive Engineer with effect from 1.1.85 when his juniors were promoted to the post of Executive Engineer.

4. In reply, Mr. DK Talukdar, learned counsel for the respondents, relied on the averments made in the affidavit-in opposition filed on behalf of the respondent Nos. 1 to 4 to the effect that the interview held in the year 1986 and 1987 were for the purpose of direct appointment to the post of Executive Engineer from amongst the departmental candidates and not for the purpose of promotion. He further submitted that in the said interviews held in the years 1986 and

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