JUDGMENT :

(Sanjay Kumar, C.J.) :

[1] The post of Fishery Officer in the Fisheries Department of the Government of Manipur is governed by the ‘Fishery Department, Manipur (Fishery Officer) Recruitment Rules, 1996’. It is a selection post which is to be filled by promotion of eligible candidates from the feeder categories of Fishery Inspector/Fishery Extension Assistant/ Fishery Instructor/Research Assistant, who possess the prescribed qualifications and experience. Promotion is to be effected upon recommendation by a Class-II Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC). Note 1 appended to the Tabular Statement in the recruitment rules provides that where a person is considered for appointment, all persons possessing the requisite qualification and who are senior to him in the grade shall also be considered irrespective of whether or not they fulfill the requirement as to minimum qualifying service prescribed for the purpose of promotion. Note 2 states that any period of ad-hoc appointment prior to regularization of appointment should not be counted towards the minimum period of service prescribed for promotion.

[2] Office Memorandum dated 15.05.2014 was issued by the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (Personnel Division), Government of Manipur, revising the existing instructions and consolidating the guidelines to be followed by Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs). Clause 3 of the guidelines provides that DPCs should be convened at regular annual intervals to draw up panels for making promotions against vacancies occurring during the course of the year.

[3] However, no promotions were made to the post of Fishery Officer, be it for whatever reason, during the years 2015-2016 (1 vacancy reserved for ST), 2016-2017 (1 unreserved vacancy), 2018-2019 (1 vacancy reserved for ST) and 2019-2020 (3 unreserved vacancies and 2 vacancies reserved for ST). Thereupon, the Fisheries Department, Government of Manipur, addressed letters dated 05.09.2019, 20.12.2019 and 26.08.2020 to the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) to convene a DPC for making appointments by promotion to these eight vacant posts of Fishery Officer. The Administrative Department is stated to have recommended the names of ten eligible officers who satisfied the prescriptions under the recruitment rules. However, the names and details of these ten officers are not placed on record. As per the affidavit-in-opposition filed by the Secretary, MPSC, Imphal, the Administrative Department submitted the ACRs of only nine Fishery Instructors/Fishery Inspectors, under its letter dated 20.12.2019. Thereafter, one more officer was added and the Administrative Department requested the MPSC to consider their candidatures.

[4] The combined Final Seniority List, as on 31.08.2019, of Fishery Inspectors/ Fishery Instructors/Fishery Extension Assistants was communicated to the MPSC, under the letter dated 04.09.2019 of the Director of Fisheries, Manipur. Therein, Keisham Dineshwar Singh stood at Sl.No.7 and Elangbam Rameshwor Singh stood at Sl.No.8. Lairenlakpam Lindali Chanu stood at Sl.No.13 while Gunabati Kangabam stood at Sl.No.18 and Loveson Golmei stood at Sl. No.34. The Administrative Department furnished Integrity Certificates of only eight out of the ten officers named by it. The MPSC constituted a Class-II DPC that held a meeting on 16.11.2020 and recommended