Court emphasized that administrative decisions regarding promotion and seniority must adhere to established rules and principles, ensuring equitable treatment for all eligible individuals.

JUDGMENT :

Sanjay Kumar Medhi, J.

All these four writ petitions and interlocutory applications being connected, the same have been heard together and are disposed of by this common judgment and order.

2. Before going into the issues which have arisen for consideration, it would be necessary to briefly state the basic facts of the cases. Suffice it to mention that the dispute is with regard to the seniority and consequential benefits between the promotees and the direct recruits in the Department of Hydro Power Development. Though the facts are common and overlapping, for the sake of convenience, the facts of each of the writ petitions, along with the submissions made are stated separately.

3. I have heard Shri K.N. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Ms N. Danggen, learned counsel for the applicants/petitioners in I.A.(C) No.217(AP)/2025;I.A.(C) No.218(AP)/2025 WP(C) No.14(AP)/2022 and WP(C) No.295(AP)/2024; Shri D. Panging, learned counsel for the petitioners in WP(C) No.284(AP)/2025; and Shri R. Saikia, learned counsel for the petitioners/applicant in WP(C) No. 459(AP)/2022 and IA(C) No.207(AP)/2025. Also heard Shri R. H. Nabam, learned Additional Advocate General for the State respondents; Shri D. Mozumdar, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Shri B. Kaushik, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.11 to 14 in WP(C) No.14(AP)/2022 and for the respondent Nos. 2 to 5 in WP(C) No.295(AP)/2024 and Mr. D. Panging, learned counsel for the respondent Nos.3 to 10 in both the WP(C) No.14(AP)/2022 and WP(C) No.495(AP)/2022.

WP(C)Nos. 14 of 2022 and 295 of 2024.

4. There are three petitioners who are common in these two cases. The petitionerno. 1 was appointed as a Junior Engineer in the erstwhile Power Department on 24.11.1997, whereas petitioner nos. 2 and 3 were appointed as Junior Engineers on 17.12.1997. The erstwhile Power Department was subsequently bifurcated and the Department of Hydro Power Development came into being. It is also not in dispute that there is a set of Rules, namely, “Recruitment to the Posts of Assistant Engineer Rules, 2005”. The Schedule to the Rules provides the mode of induction into the services, which can be either by direct recruitment or by promotion. Promotion can be made from amongst the Junior Engineers who have served for a particular length of time, depending upon whether they are Degree holders or Diploma holders and who have qualified in an accounting examination. The petitioners claim to have attained such eligibility in December 2002. The petitioners were accordingly allowed to officiate as Assistant Engineers in the Department in the year 2005 and 2007. Thereafter, vide an order dated 04.02.2009, the petitioners were given the pay scale of Assistant Engineer. The private respondents are direct recruits to the post of Assistant Engineer, appointed in the years, 2009 and 2012.

5. As the cases of the petitioners for regular promotion was not considered, the petitioners had earlier filed two writ petitions, WP(C) No. 574 of 2016 and WP(C) No. 26 of 2016, with a prayer to constitute a Departmental Promotion Committee (hereinafter referred to as “DPC”). The said writ petitions were disposed of vide an order dated 16.01.2017, pursuant to which a DPC was convened and on 31.10.2019, the petitioners were given substantive promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer. The petitioners submitted representations seeking grant of retrospective effect to their promotion