Employee outside feeder category in recruitment rules ineligible for promotion; courts cannot direct promotion dehors statutory requirements specifying service and experience criteria.

JUDGMENT :

Ranjan Sharma, J.

Petitioner, Pardeep Kumar had filed an Original Application, OA No 893 of 2017 before Himachal Pradesh State Administrative Tribunal and upon its abolition, the matter upon transfer, has come up before this Court as CWPOA No 1647 of 2020, seeking the following relief(s):

“(i). The respondent department may kindly be directed to promote the applicant as Pump Operator with effect from 15.03.2012, the date when said Sh. Lekh Raj was promoted as Pump Operator, with all consequential benefits.”

FACTUAL MATRIX:
2. Case as set-up by Learned Counsel is that petitioner was engaged as a Beldar on daily wage basis on 01.01.1987 and his services were regularized as Beldar on 01.01.1997 [Annexure A-1]. It is the case of petitioner that one Shri Lekh Raj was promoted as Pump Operator by the State Authorities on 15.03.2012 [Annexure A-2], whereas, the petitioner despite being eligible for promotion to post of Pump Operator was neither considered nor promoted as a Pump Operator by the State Authorities. It is further averred that 26 other incumbents have been promoted as Pump Operators on 15.02.2017 [Annexure A-3], by State Authorities but despite eligibility and entitlement, petitioner was neither considered nor promoted as Pump Operator by the State Authorities.
In this backdrop, the petitioner has filed instant petition raising a claim for directing the State Authorities to promote the petitioner as Pump Operator w.e.f. 15.03.2012, the date from which Shri Lekh Raj i.e. private respondent was promoted with all consequential benefits.

STAND OF STATE AUTHORITIES IN REPLY- AFFIDAVIT:
3. Pursuant to the issuance of notice on 30.03.2017, the State Authorities have filed the Reply-Affidavit dated 30.07.2018 of Superintending Engineer, IPH Circle, Una.
3(i). Perusal of the Reply-Affidavit admits that the petitioner is working as Beldar on regular basis w.e.f. 01.01.1997 in Respondent-Department. Reply-Affidavit indicates that promotion to post of Pump Operator are governed by RECRUITMENT AND PROMOTION RULES dated 31.08.1996[Annexure R-I] from amongst the Helpers/Pump Attendants who possess 8 years of regular work charge service including 5 years experience of working with Pump Motors and Electrical Accessories.
3(ii). Reply-Affidavit indicates that so far as incumbents who were promoted as Pump Operators are concerned, they had undergone the training as Pump Operator-Helper and pursuant to the said training they were promoted to the said post. It is averred that Annexure A-4 is not a Seniority List. It is averred that post of Pump Operator is Class-III Circle Level post, to be filled from feeder categories who are eligible as per statutory Rules Annexure R-I and since the petitioner being a Beldars, does not falls in the feeder category, therefore, he and is not eligible. It is averred that the petitioner cannot have any grievance if eligible feeder category employees were promoted to the posts of Pump Operator by the respondents. In this backdrop, a prayer is made for dismissing the writ petition.

REBUTTAL BY PETITIONER:
4. Petitioner has filed a rejoinder stating that respondents have adopted a pick and choose method by not sponsoring petitioner for training which was one of the pre-requisites so as to enable him to gain experience and eligibility for promotion. In this backdrop, petitioner has denied the averments contained in reply and reiterated his claim for promotion as Pump Operator from due date.

5. Heard, Mr. Prantap Sharma, Learned Counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Sumit Sharma, Learned Deputy Advocate General for Respondents and have gone through the material available on record.

ANALYSIS:
6. Taking into account the entirety of the f