R.K. GUPTA Vs. THE STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in the present writ petition have assailed the promotion of Respondents No. 2 and 4 made by the Government vide order dated 12.10.1988 (Annexure P-1) to the writ petition) to the post of Assistant Town Planners. They have assailed the 20% quota earmarked for promotion from amongst employees working in the department who possess Post Graduate Degree/Diploma in City and Regional Planning (MCRP) or equivalent. They have also claimed promotion with effect from the dates Respondents 3 and 4 have been promoted as such.

(2.) The case of the petitioners is that they are serving in the Respondent-department for the last so many years and are eligible for promotion to the post of Assistant Town Planner and that in 1972 Rules known as Punjab Town and Planning (State Services) Class-I, Rules, 1972, 80% of the posts were to be filled in through direct quota and 20% from promotees. However, the department has proposed the amendment of Recruitment Rules whereby the quota of promotees has been increased to 30% and out of 80% quota meant for direct recruitment 20% has been earmarked for Departmental employees possessing MCRP qualification and the case of the petitioners is that the Respondent Nos. 3 and 4 are junior to them who have been promoted earlier to the petitioners, thus infringing their rights to seek promotion and that there cannot be preferential treatment to the Respondent Nos. 3 and 4 on the basis of MCRP qualification, in view of the decision, of the Supreme Court in Punjab State Electricity Board, Patiala Vs. Ravinder Kumar Sharma and others, AIR 1987 Supreme Court 367.

(3.) The official and private respondents hotly contested the claim of the petitioners. They have taken the stand that the petitioners belong to different cadres who are borne on separate seniority list and that the post of Assistant Town Planner has been taken out from the purview of 1972 Class-I Rules vide Notification dated 30.10.1984 and the new Rules known as Punjab Town and Country Planners (State Service Class-II Technical) Rules, 1988 are likely to be finalised which have been approved by the Public Service Commission.