Point of Law: A list of approved candidates for appointment to the posts by promotion, by transfer and by recruitment by transfer shall be prepared annually and the crucial date on which the candidates should have acquired the prescribed qualifications shall be the 1st August of every year

JUDGMENT :

Sanjib Banerjee, J.

Prayer: Appeals filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the order made in W.P.No.46697 of 2006 dated 26.04.2010.

1. The two appeals arise out of a common order of April 26, 2010 by which a writ petition filed by a group of government employees has been allowed and the retrospective operation of a government notification of March 27, 1998 has been quashed in so far as it adversely affected the writ petitioners. One of the appeals is by persons who were not impleaded in the writ petition, though their rights have been substantially affected by the order impugned. These private appellants' future prospects are prejudiced by the impugned order and even the promotions earned by them years back rendered liable to be taken away thereby.

2. The matter pertains to Typists who had switched over from the Tamil Nadu Ministerial Service to the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Service. Of the 50 writ petitioners, at least 24 joined the secretariat service prior to August 19, 1993. The remainder joined on or after October 29, 1993. The date August 19, 1993 is important in the present context since the government notification that was questioned in the writ petition was issued on March 27, 1998 with retrospective effect from August 19, 1993.

3. The primary ground urged in the writ petition was that the writ petitioners had switched over to the secretariat service in view of the better promotional avenues available to jump to the immediate next post of Assistant and climb the ladder even thereafter. According to the writ petitioners, their chances of promotion stood considerably reduced as a result of the said government notification, being G.O.Ms.No.67, Personnel and Administrative Reforms (D) Department, dated March 27, 1998 which was given retrospective effect from August 19, 1993.

4. The writ petitioners originally carried the complaint to the then Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal by way of O.A.No.5527 of 2000. The substance of their grievance is captured in the following lines from paragraph 6(i) of the petition filed before the Tribunal:

“... As stated already, when they joined the Secretariat Service, there is no scope for direct recruitment to the post of Assistant. The Applicants chance of promotion, which is recognized as a fundamental right by our courts, is now being denied by a retrospective amendment. It is further submitted that there is no further avenue of promotion for these Typists otherwise by minimising their chances of promotion that too when available persons are very limited will be nothing but an arbitrary and unreasonable exercise of power (sic).”

5. The relief sought before the Tribunal may also be seen from paragraph 9 of the petition carried to the Tribunal:

“It is prayed that this Hon'ble Tribunal may be pleased to call for the entire records relating to the impugned Proceedings of the first respondent in his impugned G.O.Ms.No.67, Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department, Dated 27-3-98 and quash the said impugned G.O.Ms.No.67, issued by the first respondent dated 27-3-98 in so far as it affects the Applicants and direct the respondents to promote the applicants as Assistants and further promotions with all consequential benefits and pass such further or other orders as this Hon'ble Tribunal may deem fit and proper and thus render justice.”

6. Upon the Administrative Tribunal in the State being ____________ abolished, the writ petition was received in this Court and renumbered in 2006. It is, thus, evident that the case run by the writ petitioners was that their chances of being promoted to the post of Assistant stood considerably reduced upon G.O.Ms.No.67 dated March 27, 1998 being brought, since such notification restored the original position under which a part of the vacant posts of Assistants would be filled up by direct recruitment and the remainder by way of promotion. The writ petition did not make out any case of any of the writ petitioners being immediately entitled to the p