CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL PRINCIPAL BENCH, NEW DELHI OA No. 2966/2025 MA Nos.3641/2025 & 4132/2025 Reserved on: 12.01.2026 Pronounced on: 15.01.2026 Hon’ble Ms. Harvinder Kaur Oberoi, Member (J)

Hon’ble Dr. Sumeet Jerath, Member (A)

1. Shalendra Kumar Meena, S/o Sh. Batashi Lal Meena, Aged about 40 years, R/o RZ-11C, Gali No.21, Sadh Nagar, Palam Colony, Palam Village, South West, Delhi-110045 Working as Assistant Engineer (Civil)

Delhi Jal Board

2. Navdeep Sharma, S/o Sh. Dayanand Sharma, Aged about 52 years, R/o C-2/55/16-V, CGHS Mangal Apartment, Vasundhara Enclave, East Delhi-110096 Working as Assistant Engineer (Civil)

Delhi Jal Board - Applicants (By Advocates:- Mr. Sudarshan Rajan with Mr. Ramesh Rawat)

VERSUS

1. Delhi Jal Board, Through Director, Vasunalaya Phase-II, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005

2. The Deputy Director (T)

Vasunalaya Phase-II, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005 - Respondents (By Advocate: Mr. Kunal Anand)

ORDER Hon’ble Ms. Harvinder Kaur Oberoi, Member (J):

Brief fats of the case are that the applicants, two in number, are presently working as Assistant Engineers (Civil) in the Delhi Jal Board, which is respondent no. 2 and functions under the Government of NCT of Delhi, respondent no. 1. The next promotional post from the post of Assistant Engineer (Civil) is that of Executive Engineer (Civil). As per the Recruitment Rules governing the said post, promotion to the post of Executive Engineer (Civil) is permissible for Assistant Engineers (Civil) having seven years of regular service in the grade along with a degree in Civil Engineering from a recognised university or equivalent qualification. The Rules further provide that Assistant Engineers (Civil) who were diploma holders on the date of notification of the Rules would also be eligible for promotion on completion of nine years of regular service, limited to 33⅓ percent of the vacancies arising in a year. The Recruitment Rules also contain a specific provision that where juniors who have completed the qualifying eligibility service are being considered for promotion, seniors shall also be considered, provided they are not short of the qualifying service beyond the permissible limit.

2. It is submitted that the applicants were aspirants for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer (Civil). Being diploma holders in permanent service, they enrolled themselves in a B.Tech (Civil) programme conducted by Lingaya’s Vidyapeeth, Faridabad, Haryana, which offered a regular programme with classes held in the evening and on Saturdays and Sundays. The All India Council for Technical Education, a statutory body established under an Act of Parliament, issued a public notice dated 13.08.2020 clarifying that programmes conducted in physical mode, including evening, weekend and part-time programmes, fall within the category of regular programmes, and that earlier nomenclatures stood dispensed with. The AICTE Approval Process Handbook also provides for lateral entry of diploma holders into the second year of the undergraduate programme, enabling completion of the B.Tech degree in three years. 4. It is further submitted that in the year 2019, AICTE granted approval to Lingaya’s Vidyapeeth to conduct a B.Tech evening programme, including the Civil Engineering course. The applicants joined the said programme after obtaining prior permission from the competent authority. They duly attended classes in the evenings and on weekends and successfully completed the course. Upon completion, the B.Tech degrees obtained by the applicants were entered into their service records. The respondents also verified the degree of applicant no. 1 from Lingaya’s Vidyapeeth, which confirmed its genuineness.

5. Counsel for the applicants submitted that due to limited vacancies and administrative exigencies, the respondents have conventionally been assigning the duties of Executive Engineer (Civil) on current duty charge basis to the senior-most Assistant Engineers (Civil). In continuation of this practice