IMPORTANT POINT
The court emphasized the importance of upholding the State's decision based on the notification dated 27.05.2004 and discouraged the State from questioning its own decision regarding the creation of posts based on the parameters fixed by the Medical Council of India.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

1. The instant intra-court appeal, preferred under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent, is directed against the order/judgment dated 18.12.2020 passed by learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(C) No.6691 of 2019 whereby and whereunder the decision taken by the authority as under order dated 31.12.2018 has been quashed and set aside by remitting the matter before the Respondent No.2 to consider the case of the petitioner afresh within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt/production of the copy of the order considering that in view of notification dated 27.05.2004, the doctors of different departments have been provided promotion which has been contended in paragraph nos. 17, 18 and 19 of the writ petition and not rebutted by the respondents and there is no reason why the said documents will not apply in the case of the petitioner.

2. Brief facts of the case as per the pleadings made in the writ proceeding, which are required to be enumerated herein, read as under :-

3. It is the case of the petitioner that he was appointed on 26.06.1981 as Medical Officer and in the year 1984, the petitioner was posted as Tutor in Pharmacology Department in Darbhanga Medical College at the time of erstwhile State of Bihar. On 01.01.1985 the petitioner was transferred and posted as Tutor in Forensic Medicine in M.G.M. Medical College, Jamshedpur. While he was posted as such, the petitioner was given promotion on the post of Assistant Professor, Forensic Medicine with effect from 31.08.1988. Thereafter, the petitioner was transferred and posted to R.M.C.H., Ranchi as Assistant Professor, Forensic Medicine, Ranchi.

4. It is the further case of the petitioner that as per M.C.I. Rules, the petitioner was given promotion on the post of Associate Professor, Forensic Medicines with effect from 31.08.1993. Further, after completion of 4 years as Associate Professor, an Associate Professor should be promoted on the next higher post as Professor after completion of 4 years as per M.C.I. Rules as well as Promotion Rules notified in the year 1990 and 1997.

5. The petitioner has completed 4 years on 31.08.1997 and was entitled to be promoted on the post of Professor with effect from that date. The Cadre Rules which was framed in the year 1997 also adopted the MCI Rules regarding promotion given to the higher post in which rendering four years’ service as Associate Professor was essential criteria for promotion to the post of Professor. Therefore, the petitioner should have been given promotion on 31.08.1997, but unfortunately, the petitioner was given promotion on the post of Professor in Forensic Medicine by Notification No. 102(2) dated 08.04.2004 but the said promotion was given with effect from 05.11.2003.

6. The petitioner represented before the respondent authorities by series of representations for rectifying the earlier order of promotion on the post of Professor by giving him promotion with effect from 31.08.1997 and not from 5.11.2003.

7. It is the further case of the writ petitioner that the State Government has given retrospective promotion to the various Associate Professors working in the different Medical Colleges under the State of Jharkhand from the date they have completed four years as Associate Professor, on the post of Professor. Accordingly, the same treatment should be given to the petitioner since vacancy was available in the year 1997.

8. The Department of Health vide Notification contained in Memo No. 137 (2) dated 27.05.2004 has rectified the number of sanctioned posts in RIMS/RMCH by modifying Annexure-A which also contains number of sanctioned post of teachers (doctors) in the RMCH/RIMS. While rectifying by aforesaid Notification, it has been stated that the correct number of sanctioned posts were not incorporated in Annexure-A, therefore, "Annexure-1" is being issued which will replace