KASHI NATH PANDEY,J. - (1.) THE writ petitioner is a graduate engineer. He applied for and was selected in an open competition by the Public Services Commission U.P. as Assistant Engineer, in Uttar Pradesh (Centralized) Service in Scheduled Caste category and was appointed as Assistant Engineer, Nagar Nigam, Kanpur Nagar, vide appointment letter dated 21.5.1994. He was promoted as Executive Engineer in the year 2001 and is placed in the combined seniority list of the Uttar Pradesh Palika (Kendriya) Abhiyantran (Pravar) Sewa, notified on 21.1.1999 at serial no. 35. By this writ petition, he has prayed for a direction to the respondents to consider him for promotion under the Rules and Government Order dated 30.1.2003 to the post of Chief Engineer, in the reserved category. He has also prayed for a direction to the respondents not to change the status of the petitioner and to adjust him at other place.
(2.) WE have heard Shri Shishir Kumar, Advocate for the petitioner. Shri Pankaj Saxena, Standing Counsel appears for the State respondents. With the consent of parties, the writ petition was heard. Rule 20 of the U.P. Palika (Centralized) Services Rules, 1966 provides for recruitment by promotion. By the Government Order dated 25.5.1979, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, in exercise of the powers vested in him under Rule 12 of the Rules of 1966, provided for eligibility for promotion to the post of Assistant Engineer, Executive Engineer and Chief City Engineer. For Executive Engineer, the Assistant Engineer is required to complete 7 years of continuous service including adhoc, temporary and officiating service. For promotion as Chief City Engineer, the Executive Engineer is required to complete 15 years of service as Executive Engineer in Centralized Service on 1st July of the recruitment year, including the continuous adhoc, temporary and officiating service. The Government Order dated 25.5.1979 was revised by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, vide Government order dated 30.1.2003 amending the eligibility conditions. For Chief Engineer the Executive Engineer is now required to complete 15 years of service on 1st July of the calender year in which the selection is held, including the services as Assistant Engineer and Executive Engineer, and which may include continuous, adhoc, temporary and officiating service.
(3.) FROM the pleadings we find that there are 12 sanctioned posts of Chief Engineer in the Palika Centralized Service. At present 09 persons, including 02 belonging to Scheduled Caste namely Shri Jitendra Ken at Varanasi and Shri R.K. Varma at Aligarh are working on the posts. Three posts one each at Districts Bareilly, Ghaziabad and Meerut, are vacant. The petitioner filed representations dated 24.10.2008; 11.6.2009 and 10.8.2009, with a complaint, that inspite of his eligibility, he was superseded by one Shri Ram Kewal Prasad at serial No. 95 in the seniority list in the reserved category. Shri Ram Kewal Prasad was promoted to the post of Chief Engineer on 4.8.2003, illegally superseding the petitioner and in any case since Shri Ram Kewal Prasad had retired in June, 2009, there is one vacancy out of 12 posts of Chief Engineer, for Scheduled Caste category. Shri Shishir Kumar submits that even if the petitioner was not treated to be eligible in the year 2003, on the ground that he had completed only 09 year's service by them, as against fifteen years, he was eligible to be considered on the vacancy caused by retirement of Shri Ram Kewal Prasad and was entitled to be considered for promotion after completing 15 years of service on 1st July 2010, by the Departmental Promotion Committee, which will meet in June, 2010. ;