SHRAWAN SAWNEY Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners have a common grievance against the decision taken by the State of Rajasthan to promote persons junior to them affecting prejudicially their service career for all times to come. THE petitioners were selected by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (for short the RPSC) for direct recruitment to the Rajasthan Administrative Service (Ordinary Scale. On the recommendation of the RPSC the Government issued order of appointment on November 23, 1982. THE petitioners were initially appointed as probationers for a period of two years. THEy became entitled to be confirmed in the ordinary scale of RAS after completion of two years of service successfully i. e. on November 23, 1984 but order of confirmation was delayed and it was made on Feb. 19, 1987. THE vacancies against which the petitioners had been appointed pertain to the year 1980 or earlier than that. Prior to the recruitment of the petitioners, the appointments to the RAS (Ordinary Scale) had been made in the year 1980 against the vacancies of 1978 or 1979 and the batch was known as `1979 direct recruits' whereas the petitioners batch was known as `1980 direct recruits'. A seniority list of the officers of the RAS was issued on December 22, 1986 showing the position as on December 8, 1986 in the selection scale, senior scale and ordinary scale. Names of the petitioners appeared at Nos. 51 to 75 in that list as direct recruits of 1980. Below them have been shown the direct recruits of 1981-82, 1983 and thereafter, promotees have been placed. After completion of five years of service all the petitioners had become eligible for promotion to the Senior Scale of RAS as all of them fulfilled all the conditions of eligibility.

(2.) BUT the chances of promotion of the petitioners had been stultified by the decision taken by the Government to treat the petitioners as juniors to the promotees of 1981-82 and 1982-83. According to the petitioners the action of the State of Rajasthan in seeking to deny seniority to the petitioners vis-a-vis the promotees to the 1981-82 and 1982-83 and also denying them promotion to the senior scale of RAS on this premises, is wholly arbitrary. The petitioners have therefore approached this court by filing the instant writ petition with the following prayers - (i) the provisions of Rule 9 (2) read with Rule 28-B (11-A) and Rule 33 (1) and proviso (ii) to Rule 33 of the Rajasthan Administrative Service Rules 1954 be declared unconstitutional and struck down. The respondent State be directed to maintain the quota between the direct recruits and the promotees in the matter of determination of their seniority and promotion to the Senior Scale of RAS be given with all consequential be benefits on the basis of such seniority. (ii) The petitioners by declared confirmed w. e. f. November 22, 1984 i. e. after the expiry of two years period of probation.

(3.) MR. Rastogi submitted graphic presentation of the vacancies in order to show the excess promotion given to the promotees in preference to direct recruits. Promotees of the years 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83 and 1983-84 have been accorded higher seniority than the petitioners simply on the premise that the petitioners were confirmed on Feb. 19, 1987. Reliance in this connection has been placed on S. K. Agrawal and others vs. State of Rajasthan (8) and Keshav Chandra Joshi vs. Union of India (9) and M. S. Patil vs. State of Maharashtra (supra ).