The right to be considered for promotion is a fundamental right, and the order of punishment imposed against the petitioner did not comply with the requirements of G.O.Ms.No.342, dated 04.08.1997.

ORDER :

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned standing counsel for the respondents.

2. The petitioner filed this writ petition to issue a writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in issuing the impugned proceedings dated 05.03.2013 bearing Lr. No. 171/Personal 1/ 1B of 2009 in rejecting the representation of the petitioner dated 26.12.2012 by not promoting the petitioner to the post of Deputy Director of the Respondent Organization, as illegal, contrary to law, judicial precedents and constitutional rights and consequently, grant relief of refixing the seniority of the petitioner from the seniority list of the year 2007 in the Grade-II Manager over and above the candidatures of respondents 2 to 5 by granting all the consequential benefits including the post of the Deputy Directorship in the 1st respondent organization.

3. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is as follows :

(a) The petitioner was appointed to the post of Processing Supervisor at Kartal in the year 1993, at that point of time, the appointment was direct with immediate regularization for which there was no training period, however, the probation period was available to be subjected on every appointment.

(b) In the year 1995, the petitioner was transferred as Processing Supervisor on 29.12.1995 to Gajwel, and while working at Gajwel, the petitioner was subjected to a case of liability for spoilage of milk amounting to 4,700 litres and the respondent has fixed the liability to a tune of Rs.29,756/-, which was not a proper calculation, the liability so fixed was challenged by the petitioner to the enquiry, which was conducted only in the year 2005.

(c) On several persuasion and the appeals of the petitioner fixing the said liability the amounts were reduced to an amount of Rs. 11,081/-, and the amounts so fixed as a liability on the petitioner was recovered.

(d) On the ground of spoilage, the respondents have conducted regular enquiry and have imposed the punishment of stoppage of one annual grade increment, vide proceedings dated 07.06.2007. Since the punishment was only stoppage of one annual grade increment, the promotional avenues as well as the maintenance of the seniority right from the date of appointment in the cadre of Processing Supervisor had not been disturbed nor altered. Based upon the seniority the petitioner was promoted to the post of Grade-II Manager on 14.04.2001. However, thereafter, detrimental to the interest of the petitioner, the seniority was altered without any notice to the petitioner.

(e) Again in the year 2010 the petitioner was finally promoted to the post of Grade-I Manager and the next promotional post is only Deputy Director in the respondent organization. The promotional post to the cadre of the Deputy Director is only from the feeder category i.e. the post of grade-I Manager.

(f) The petitioner who was appointed in the year 1993 and the seniority has to be maintained right from the beginning i.e. in the cadre of Processing Supervisor. Since there were no impediments either in the service records nor any proceedings of the respondents to alter the seniority list of the petitioner in all the consequential cadres and the respondent ought to have given the consequential promotional post of the Deputy Director. As can be seen from the records, the petitioner has been campaigning the cause to agitate the promotional list right from 2007 and the latest being on 11.10.2011 and earlier one being on 24.04.2010, explaining anguish and pain concerning the alteration of seniority list.

(g) The seniority list of grade I was published on 1st April, 2010 despite several representations by the petitioner, the respondents have not altered the seniority list. Thereby, the petitioner has been placed below the unofficial respondents. The 1st respondent has not assigned any specific reason to place the petitioner below the uno