- (1.) Five Executive Engineers posted in different Divisions of the Rural Engineering Department of the State (the Department) have filed this petition to assail the seniority list dated 22 March 2016. They have also sought a direction that the Department should not hold the Departmental Promotion Committee meeting on 29 April 2016 for considering promotions on the basis of the aforesaid seniority list dated 22 March 2016. An amendment application has been filed to assail the communication dated 1 December 2015 sent by the Special Secretary in the State Government to the Director and Chief Engineer for preparing a fresh seniority list of Assistant Engineers in the Department pursuant to the directions issued by the Supreme Court on 7 April 2015 in Secretary, Minor Irrigation Department & R.E.S. v. Narendra Kumar Tripathi, 2015 11 SCC 80 and on 26 October 2015 in Special Leave Petition No. 2075 of 2006, S.K. Singh and others v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others, decided on 26 October 2015, Special Leave Petition No. 11832 of 2006 and Writ Petition No. 489 of 2005 as also in certain other writ petitions by the High Court. This amendment application also seeks the quashing of the order dated 25 April 2016 by which additional charge of Superintending Engineer has been given to certain Executive Engineers. An impleadment application has also been filed by Madan Mohan Srivastava. The impleadment application was allowed by order dated 18 May 2016.
(2.) The dispute relates to determination of the seniority of Assistant Engineers working in the Department. The seniority of such Assistant Engineers which had been determined on 14 December 2001 did not count the ad hoc services rendered by Assistant Engineers prior to their regularisation on 14 December 1989. It was subjected to challenge in many writ petitions earlier filed from 2001. The Assistant Engineers pleaded that the ad hoc services should be added to their length of service for determining their seniority. Ultimately the Supreme Court decided matters relating to Narendra Kumar Tripathi on 7 April 2015 and directed for re-determination of the seniority by adding the service rendered on ad hoc basis for the purpose of seniority. The seniority was then re-determined on 22 March 2016.
(3.) The seniority list earlier prepared by the Department on 14 December 2001 placed the petitioners at serial Nos. 106, 109, 107, 122 and 108 respectively. However, even before the finalization of the list on 14 December 2001, Narendra Kumar Tripathi, 2003 1 UPLBEC 674 had filed Writ Petition No. 9940 of 2001 for quashing the order dated 26 December 2000 by which the State Government had rejected the representation filed by him to claim seniority from the date when he was initially appointed on 18 January 1983 in the Department on work-charge basis. It was stated that he had subsequently been appointed as an Assistant Engineer in the Department on ad hoc basis by order dated 12 June 1985 and his services were regularized by order dated 14 December 1989 but his seniority was being counted from 14 December 1989. He claimed the benefit of the previous service rendered by him on work-charge basis from 18 January 1983. The representation was rejected by the State Government by order dated 26 December 2000. The Division Bench of the High Court allowed this writ petition filed by Narendra Kumar Tripathi on 13 February 2003 and directed the Department to fix his seniority from the date of his initial appointment on work-charge basis on 18 January 1983.;