Ad hoc promotions do not confer a right to hold the post and the promotee has to make room for accommodation of a regularly selected person.

1. - In all these writ petitions the petitioners have questioned legality of the orders relating to promotions made on the post of Teacher Gr. II and their reversion from the post of Teacher Gr. II to that of Teacher Gr. III. Since facts of the cases are similar and common questions of law have been raised for determination, the only appropriate course for this court is to decide all these writ petitions by a common order.

2. In order to appreciate the contentions of the petitioners, I deem it proper to make reference to few facts from each of the writ petitions.

3. In writ petition No. 222/94 Shiv Charan Sharma v. State of Rajasthan and others, the petitioner has stated that he passed B.A. from the University of Rajasthan in the year 1978 and B.Ed. from University of Ajmer in the year 1988. He joined Government service as Teacher Gr. III on being appointed as such by the District Education Officer, Jaipur-I (Boys Institution), Jaipur. In the seniority list of Teacher Gr. III of district Jaipur, name of the petitioner has been included at serial No. 791/71-82. In the year 1991 an eligibility list of teachers, who were entitled to be considered for promotion for the year 1991-92, was prepared by the District Education Officer. In this list name of the petitioner came to be included at serial No. 35. Names of respondent Nos. 5 to 7 were not shown in the said list. On the basis of this eligibility list, orders dated 2.12.91 and 21.12.91 (Annexures 3 and 5) were issued for promotion of Teachers Gr. III to the post of Teacher Gr. II. Initially the petitioner had been denied promotion but by the second order, he too was given promotion its Teacher Gr. II on ad hoc basis. In the year 1993 a Departmental Promotion Committee met and on its recommendation, orders dated 14.12.93 and 21.12.93 (Annexures 6 and 7) have been issued for promotion of Teachers Gr. III to that of Gr. II. Two other orders dated 24.11.93 and 25.11.93 have been issued for reversion of some of existing Teachers Gr. II. Petitioner has been reverted by order dated 25.11.93 (Annexure 9).

4. Petitioner has pleaded that five persons junior to him in the category of ad hoc Teachers Gr. II have been allowed to continue although he has been reverted by order dated 25.11.1993. He has also pleaded that Shri Narainlal, whose name appears at serial No. 3 in the order dated 21.12.93 (Annexure 7), has foregone his promotion. He has written letter dated 5.1.94 (Annexure 2) to the Headmaster of the school in this respect. Further case of the petitioner is that although a number of persons who were not eligible to be considered for promotion against the year 1991-92, although they were senior to the petitioner and they had in fact not been promoted in the years 1991 or 1992, have now been promoted despite being ineligible. He has stated that these persons have acquired the degree of B.Ed. in the year 1991-92 and yet they have been given promotion as Teacher Gr. II. Petitioner has also pleaded that one Shri Mahesh Chandra Sharma (respondent No. 7), who stood transferred from district Jaipur to Alwar, has been included in the list of promoted teachers and if he is excluded from the list of promoted teachers, the petitioner is the next person to be promoted. According to the petitioner, by acting arbitrarily the departmental authorities have discriminated him qua other persons and have unlawfully reverted him from the post of Teacher Gr. II to that Gr. III.

5. In their reply respondent Nos. 1 to 4 have stated that petitioner's name is at serial No. 791 in the seniority block of 1971-81. According to them, eligibility list published on 7.6.91 included names of all those teachers who had acquired B.Ed. qualification upto 31.3.91. On the basis of that eligibility list, ad hoc promotions were given to large number of teachers including the petitioner. No Departmental Promotion Committee had met and competent authority had issued the order primarily on the basis of seniority from amo