Service rules are prospective in operation unless explicitly stated otherwise; therefore, seniority lists cannot be prepared or revised by applying new service rules retrospectively to employees who were already promoted under the previously prevailing rules.

COMMON ORDER:

Since all these writ petitions are filed with similar prayer, they are being taken up together and disposed of by this common order.

2. Heard Sri Mirza Safiulla Baig, learned counsel for the petitioners, Sri B. Sravan Kumar, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services-I for the respondent Nos.1 and 2 and Sri Gurram Srinivas, learned counsel for the respondent No.3 in all these writ petitions.

3. These writ petitions are filed questioning the action of the respondent No.2 in abstaining from drawing integrated seniority list to the post of Deputy Executive Engineer as per the directions of this Court in W.P.No.22150 of 2019 dated 17.10.2019 and in accordance with G.O.Ms.No.219 PR & RD (Estt.-III) Department dated 11.06.2008 and G.O.Ms.No.201, GAD dated 04.08.2021 contrarily proposing to implement Telangana State Mission Bhagiratha Engineering Service Rules, 2022 issued vide G.O.Ms.No.32 PR & RD (Mission Bhagiratha.I) Department dated 08.09.2022 retrospectively as illegal and arbitrary.

4. Learned Counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners were selected by the Public Service Commission and appointed as Assistant Engineers in different proceedings dated 06.06.2011 and thereafter, promoted as Deputy Executive Engineers vide different proceedings in the office of Mission Bhagiratha in different regions. The respondent No.2 has issued Tentative Seniority List of Graduate Deputy Executive Engineer for Zone-V & VI of Mission Bhagirtha Department vide Memo No.G(2)/MB/DEEs/5555/2019-Zone-VI dated 21.02.2019 calling for objections. Aggrieved by the same, two of the Deputy Executive Engineers have filed W.P.No.22150 of 2019 and the same was disposed of on 17.10.2019 directing the respondents to consider the objections submitted by the petitioners therein on 07.03.2019 and 18.04.2019 and prepare the final seniority list in accordance with the State and Subordinate Service Rules, but no final seniority list was prepared. In the meantime, the respondent No.1 has approved the scheme of organization for local cadres in the department of Mission Bhagiratha in G.O.Ms.No.201, General Administration (SPF-II) Department dated 04.08.2021 thereby all the posts in the department have been organized into District, Zonal, Multi-Zonal cadres and State cadres and the post of Assistant Executive Engineer is organized as Multi Zonal and the post of Deputy Executive Engineer is organized as State cadre.

5. Learned Counsel for the petitioners further submits that in supersession of the Special Rules issued in G.O.Ms.No.219 PR & RD (Estt-III) Department dated 11.06.2008, new service rules came into force under Telangana State Mission Bhagiratha Engineering Service Rules, 2022 vide G.O.Ms.No.32 PR & RD (Mission Bhagiratha.I) Department dated 08.09.2022, as per which, the respondent No.2 has prepared a provisional integrated seniority list of Assistant Executive Engineer of PSC-2010 batch of Mission Bhagiratha Department vide Memo No.SOI&II/MB/AEEs/Integrated Seniority List/2023 dated 14.12.2023 and called for objections. After considering the objections, the respondent No.2 has issued integrated seniority list of Assistant Executive Engineers of PSC-2010 Batch vide Memo No.SOI & II/MB/AEEs/Integrated Seniority List/2023 dated 10.06.2024 stating that all promotions were being affected in accordance with the new Service Rules, 2022, which would necessarily imply that the integrated seniority list of Assistant Executive Engineers for the batch 2010 was not in accordance with G.