JUDGMENT :

SUJIT NARAYAN PRASAD, J.

1. The instant intra-court appeal preferred by the State of Jharkhand under Clause-10 of Letters Patent is directed against the order/judgment dated 19.02.2020 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P. (S) No. 1606 of 2010, whereby and whereunder, the decision was taken in Memo No. 666 dated 22.3.2010 issued under the signature of the Superintending Engineer, Building Circle, Hazaribagh, by which, the decision taken, was communicated of recall of benefits of 1st Time Bound Promotion/1st and 2nd Assured Career Progression Scheme granted to the writ petitioner with effect from 03.09.1983 and 09.08.1999 on the ground that the writ petitioner has not passed the departmental accounts examination.

2. The brief facts of the case, as per the pleading made in the writ petition, required to be enumerated, are as hereunder:

It is the case of the writ petitioner that he was appointed to the post of Correspondence Clerk on ad hoc basis on 03.09.1973. However, he was appointed on regular basis in accordance with law against a sanctioned vacant post of Correspondence Clerk vide office order as contained in Memo No. 348 dated 15.10.1973. He worked to the satisfaction of all concerned and no complaint of any kind was ever made against him from any corner. No departmental proceeding was ever initiated against the writ petitioner or any criminal cases were ever lodged against him. The writ petitioner along with others was granted regular promotion vide office order as contained in Memo No. 431 dated 24.3.1985. In pursuance to an order passed by the Hon’ble Patna High Court, Ranchi Bench in C.W.J.C. No. 241 of 1990 dated 30.7.1998, the regular promotion granted to the writ petitioner was cancelled vide office order as contained in Memo No. 525 dated 05.07.1999. However, he was granted the 1st Time Bound Promotion with effect from 03.09.1983 in accordance with law on completion of ten years of successful service. In the meantime, the Resolution No. 660 dated 08.02.1999 was implemented with effect from 01.01.1996 and as per the said Resolution, the Time Bound Promotion granted to the employees were withdrawn and they were placed in the basic scale and as such, the benefit of the 1st Time Bound Promotion granted to the writ petitioner with effect from 03.09.1983 had also been withdrawn.

After creation of Jharkhand, the State of Jharkhand introduced the scheme of Assured Progression Scheme vide notification dated 14.08.2002 in terms thereof, if an incumbent not promoted within the period of 12 years, would be granted one higher scale of pay and another upon 24 years, if he has not been promoted.

In pursuance to the notification dated 14.08.2002, a meeting of the Circle Establishment-cum-Screening Committee was held on 18.09.2003 and thereafter, in pursuance to the decision taken in the said meeting, the writ petitioner was granted benefit of 1st and 2nd Assured Career Progression Scheme w.e.f. 09.08.1989 vide office order contained in Memo No. 2392 dated 12.11.2003.

In pursuance to the said decision, the pay scale of the writ petitioner was revised vide office order contained in Memo No. 2750 dated 27.12.2003. Another meeting of the Circle Establishment-cum-Screening Committee was held on 13.08.2005 and there was some rectification in the decision communicated vide office order contained in Memo No. 2392 dated 12.11.2003 with regard to pay scale and the same was circulated vide office order contained in Memo No. 972 dated 19.08.2005.

As per Rule 157(3)(G) of the Bihar Board’s Miscellaneous Rules, departmental examination has to be held twice a year on the 2nd Monday of March and September every year or on such other fixed by the Board but it is not being conducted twice in a year, rather it is not even being conducted every year. However, as and when the departmental examination was conducted, the petitioner appeared and he had cleared 1st (final) and 2nd paper (preliminary) on 29.10.1990.

It is the further c