Provisional induction against leave/training reserves does not bar later placement in regular reserved slots upon feeding cadre seniority finalization; employer cannot deny promotion due to its own delay if officers eligible and vacancies available.

ORDER 

(Delivered by Hon’ble Mr. Rajinder Singh Dogra, Member-J)

1. The present original application is preferred by applicants seeking to challenge the Govt. Order No.123-JK(GAD) of 2022 dated 04-02- 2022, by virtue of which the claim of applicants for issuance of formal order for reflecting their names as ST & RBA category out of total 12 slots available for the year 2007, in the Industries and Commerce Gazetted Service (Functional Manager Category), is rejected. The applicants have consequently sought further directions against the respondents to issue a formal order by correctly indicating the name of applicants against the slots of ST & RBA category for the year 2007.

2. The factual premise on which the present application is preferred is that the applicants were selected pursuant to the selection process initiated by Public Service Commission for filling up the vacancies in various gazettes services under Direct Recruitment Quota, the applicants were selected after qualifying Combined Competitive Examination and were accordingly appointed in the Gazetted service as Functional Manager in Industries and Commerce Department vide Govt. Order No.787-GAD of 1999 dated 12-07-1999. The applicants have pleaded that in terms of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service Rules, 1979 govern the recruitment to the Administrative Services of the erstwhile State and the structure of Administrative Services there under comprises of various scales ranging from Junior Scale of Administrative Scale to Super Time Scale. However, the method of recruitment to Administrative Services, as provided in Rule 5 of 1979 Rules, the Recruitment to the Administrative Service is provided by way of competitive examination for direct recruitment to Junior Time Scale of Administrative Service and also by way of promotion to the Junior Time Scale of service from amongst the members of sixteen (16) feeding services provided in the aforesaid Rules. It is further pleaded that Industries and Commerce (Gazetted) Service is one of the feeding services to the time scale of Administrative Service under the Rules (Supra) and the Recruitment to the Time Scale of Gazetted Service is made by way of promotion /induction to the time scale of J&K Administrative Service.

3. It is the case of the applicants that since the applicants were the members of Gazetted service, which was one of the feeding service to the Time Scale of J&K Administrative Service and the Govt. at the relevant time had evolved a formula for allocation of vacancies (Commonly called as slots) allocable to different feeding services on year to year basis for induction to Time Scale of J&K Administrative Service and after the slots were allocated, the eligible candidates in the feeding services were entitled to be considered for their appointment /induction to the Time Scale of the Administrative Service against the slots for that particular year when those candidates have attained eligibility and consequently the vacancy is available.

4. The applicants have pleaded that they were since appointed in the year 1999, thus have got eligible for their induction in Time Scale of J&K Administrative Service after completion of four years of service from the date of appointment, it