The main legal point established is that eligibility for promotion through Limited Departmental Competitive Examination should be determined based on Rule 203.1 and 203.2, with consideration given to the petitioner's juniors and the integrated seniority of employees from different streams as per Rule 203.5.

(V.RAMASUBRAMANIAN, J.)

The petitioner has come up with the above writ petition challenging the dismissal of her claim for allowing her to write an examination for promotion to the Group B post of Assistant Personnel Officer against the 70% quota reserved for selection among inservice candidates on the basis of a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination.

2. Heard Mr.P.Ulaganathan, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr.V.G. Sureshkumar, learned standing counsel appearing for the respondents 1 to 3.

3. The petitioner was regularly appointed as a Clerk in Group C on 18.05.1987. She was promoted to the post of Senior Clerk on 07.03.1991. On 06.05.1995, she was rendered surplus in the Department in which she was posted. Therefore, on 21.06.1999, she was posted against a regular vacancy in the Mechanical Department. But, unfortunately, when the petitioner went to the Mechanical Department to join duty, the staff working in the Department opposed on the ground that their opportunities were spoiled by such redeployment. Therefore, the railway administration created a supernumerary post and accommodated the petitioner, with effect from 10.05.2000.

4. On 01.09.2008, the petitioner was granted scale of pay of Rs.9300-34800 with grade pay of Rs.4200 under the Modified Assured Career Progression Scheme (MACPS). Thereafter, she was regularly promoted as Office Superintendent, with effect from 11.11.1993. The scale of pay for the post of Office Superintendent was exactly the same viz., Rs.9300 -34800 with grade pay of Rs.4200/-, which the petitioner has already reached under MACPS.

5. On 04.12.2014, a Notification was issued by the Southern Railway, inviting applications from candidates eligible for taking a Limited Departmental Competitive Examination for promotion to the Group B post of Assistant Personnel Officer. When the petitioner applied, her application was rejected by an order dated 08.01.2015, on the short ground that she had not completed three years of non-fortuitous service in the particular grade pay, as per Rule 203.1 of the Indian Railway Establishment Manual.

6. Challenging the said order dated 08.01.2015, the petitioner filed an application in O.A. No.470 of 2015 on the file of the Central Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal dismissed the application, on the ground that a mere financial upgradation granted to the petitioner before 01.11.2013, would not make her eligible for appearing for the selection in terms of Rule 203.1. Aggrieved by the said order of the Tribunal, the petitioner has come up with the above writ petition.

7. There are no disputes about the date of original appointment of the petitioner, the date of her promotion, the date on which she was rendered surplus, the date on which she was accommodated against a supernumerary post and the date on which she was granted MACP and the date on which she was regularly promoted to the post of Office Superintendent.

8. For the purpose of selection to Group B post, the Indian Railway Establishment Manual lays down certain conditions under Rules 203.1 to 203.5. These rules, which underwent an amendment on 05.01.2006, are required to be extracted. Hence they are extracted as follows:

"203.1. Conditions of eligibility:-For the selection, all Group 'C' employees working on a regular basis in grade the minimum of which is Rs.5000/-in the revised scale and in the higher Group 'C' grades and who have rendered not less than 3 years of non-fortuitous service in the grade are eligible. There will be no distinction between permanent and temporary employees. (Railway Board's letter No.E(GP)/2005/2/69 dated 05.01.2006)

203.2. In case a junior employee is considered for selection by virtue of his satisfying the relevant minimum service conditions all persons senior to him shall be held to be eligible, notwithstanding the position that they do not fulfill