- (1.) Instant writ petition has been filed jointly by 13 petitioners who are substantive employees in the cadre of Class-IV and their grievance is that by virtue of the Model Recruitment Rules which have been introduced by the respondents their right of fair consideration for promotion to the post of Junior Assistant, which was earlier designated as LDC, has been seriously jeopardized and this action of the respondents in depriving them from being considered for promotion to the post of Junior Assistant is unconstitutional and is violative of Art.14 of the Constitution.
(2.) At the time when they were initially engaged in the cadre of Class-IV, they were the employees of Malviya Regional Engineering College, Jaipur which was the registered Society and their service conditions were governed by the Malviya Regional Engineering College (Administration & Ministerial Staff) Rules, 1969 and for the members of Class-IV staff, 10% of the vacancy in the cadre of LDC were reserved. After creation of Malviya National Institute of Technology, having a deemed University status under the NIT Act, 2007, the Model Recruitment Rules for non-faculty posts in the Malviya National Institute of Technology came to be introduced by the respondents and the post of LDC has now been re-designated as Junior Assistant and classified as Group-C post under the scheme of Rules is to be filled 100% by direct recruitment to be conducted by the Institution. It will be appropriate to quote the relevant scheme of Rules laying down the criteria of recruitment for the post of Junior Assistant with which we are presently concerned in the matter and the same reads ad infra:-
(3.) It can be noticed from the present scheme of Rules that senior secondary (10+2) in any discipline with a minimum typing speed of 35 w.p.m. and proficiency in Computer Word Processing and Spread Sheet has become minimum technical qualification to man the post of Junior Assistant. However, the mode of recruitment, as prescribed under the present scheme of Rules, is to be filled 100% by direct recruitment through examination. Indisputably, under the earlier scheme of Rules, which was introduced by the Malviya Regional Engineering College, 10% quota was available for the Class-IV Staff for their promotion who are substantively working in a pay-scale below the pay-scale of LDC/Lab.Assistant. Counsel for the petitioner submits that the post of Junior Assistant came to be advertised by the respondents pursuant to their advertisement (Ann.1) in the year 2013 and since there is no reservation provided for the members of Class-IV, their vested right of consideration on promotional post, which was available in the earlier scheme of Rules of LDC, has been seriously jeopardized and this according to them is violative of Art.14 of the Constitution. Reply to the writ petition has been filed by the respondents and it has been stated that no vested right is accrued in favour of the petitioners, as alleged by them and after the Model Recruitment Rules have come into force, which has been adopted by the respondent No.2, the available vacancies in the cadre have to be filled in accordance with the present Model Recruitment Rules. It has been further stated that the order dt.25.06.2002 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Department, Department of Secondary & Higher Education nowhere provides that the employees of erstwhile Malviya Regional Engineering College, Jaipur will have the right of promotion in the newly created Malviya National Institute of Technology and only the remuneration, rights and privileges like pension, leave, gratuity, provident fund remain protected which are in existence in the erstwhile MREC and after the Model Recruitment Rules have come into force, certainly the recruitment has to be made in accordance with the present Rules and if the petitioners are eligible, it is always open for them to participate in the selection process but no right can be claimed by them for their promotion to the post of LDC which otherwise does not exist in the present scheme of Rules. However, the post of Junior Assistant is to be filled 100% by direct recruitment and the submission of the petitioners' counsel that their right of consideration for promotion has been jeopardized is wholly without any factual foundation and deserves outright rejection.;