Khanna, J. - (1.) This judgment would dispose of two Civil Appeals Nos. 354 and 355 of 1971 which have been filed on certificate by Tuhi Ram Sharma appellant against the Full Bench judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
(2.) The appellant joined service as Agricultural Inspector in the Agricultural Development of Punjab Government in 1945. Teja Singh, Bhale Ram and Prithvi Singh joined as Agricultural Inspectors in the said Agricultural Department on different dates between 1950 and 1958. The appellant was confirmed as Agricultural Inspector in 1959. On May 20, 1961 the appellant was appointed against a temporary post of Block Development and Panchayat Officer in the Development Department of the State. By order dated October 28, 1966 the appellant was made substantive permanent Block Development and Panchayat Officer with effect from April 1, 1964. As a result of partition of Punjab the appellant as well as the Teja Singh, Bhale Ram and Prithvi Singh were allocated to the State of Haryana. On February 26, 1969 the Governor of Haryana passed an order deconfirming the appellant on his request from the post of Block Development and Panchayat Officer with effect from that date. On March 20, 1969 the Governor of Haryana passed the impugned order which reads as under: "The Governor of Haryana is pleased to promote temporarily Shri Tuhi Ram Sharma, Agricultural Inspector, now working as Block Development and Panchayat Officer as District Agricultural Officer in H. A. S. Class II subject to the approval of the Haryana Public Service Commission and to post him at Rohtak in place of Shri Narain Singh who is transferred to Narnaul as District Agricultural Officer, Shri Prithvi Singh who is working against the post of District Agricultural Officer, Narnaul is reverted to the post of Agricultural Inspector being the junior-most. The character roll file of Shri Tuhi Ram in two parts is sent herewith. Its receipt may please be acknowledged." Two writ petitions were filed praying the quashing of the above order. One petition was filed by Prithvi Singh respondent and the other was filed by Bhale Ram and Teja Singh respondents. Learned Single Judge (Tuli J.) as per judgment dated January 30, 1970 allowed both the writ petitions and quashed the impugned order on the following two grounds: "(i) the impugned promotion had been made in violation of the mandatory requirements of Rule 7 of the Haryana Agricultural Service Class II Rules, 1947 (hereinafter called the 1947 rules) which required appointment being made to the service by promotion by selection on the advice of Haryana Public Service Commission inasmuch as Sharma had been promoted without obtaining the advice of the Commission which had to be taken before the selection for promotion was made and not after having promoted Sharma; and (ii) in view of the binding earlier Division Bench judgment of this Court in Labhu Ram v. State of Punjab, 1968 SLR 319 (Punj) it was held that Sharma had on his confirmation as Block Development and Panchayat Officer on October 28, 1966 (with effect from April 1, 1964, vide Annexure A) in the Development Department of the Haryana State, ceased to be a member of the Haryana Agricultural Service from which post alone he could have been promoted to the post in question, and his lien on the post of Agricultural Inspector automatically stood terminated under Rule 3.12 of the Punjab Civil Services Rules Volume I, Part I." It was also observed by learned single Judge that but for the earlier Division Bench judgment in the case of Labhu Ram v. State of Punjab, he would have been inclined to hold in favour of Sharma appellant on the second point mentioned above. Four Letters Patent appeals were filed against the judgment of the single Judge. Two of those appeals were by Sharma appellant, while the other two were filed by the State of Haryana. When the appeals came up for hearing before the Division Bench, the learned Judges referred the matter to the Full Bench. In the meantime, on March 5, 1970 the Governor of Haryana in consultation with the Haryana Public Service Commission promoted Sharma appellant as District Agricultural Officer in Class II on regular basis and posted him as such with effect from April 1, 1969. All the learned Judges constituting the Full Bench held that the first ground on which the impugned order had been quashed, namely, non-procuring of the advance advice of the Haryana Public Service Commission was not well founded. It was also observed that the earlier case of Labhu Ram was clearly distinguishable and had no bearing. By a majority of two to one the Full Bench upheld the judgment of the single Judge on the second ground, namely, that the lien of the appellant on the post of Agricultural Inspector had automatically been terminated.
(3.) It is the above conclusion of the majority which has been assailed in these two appeals before us.;