MANOJ MISRA,J. - (1.) As these two petitions raise common questions of law and fact and arise out of a seniority dispute inter se Junior Engineers working under the control of U.P. Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd., with the consent of learned counsel for the parties, both the petitions were heard together and are being decided by a common judgment.
(2.) To have a clear understanding of the controversy involved in these two petitions, it would be appropriate to have a brief narration of relevant facts. The Electricity Service Commission of Uttar Pradesh, State Electricity Board (for short the Commission) issued an advertisement No. 3-ESC/1998, published in Employment News dated 02-08.01.1999, inviting applications for filling up a total of 500 posts of Junior Engineer Apprentice (Electrical and Mechanical). As, at that time, the State of Uttar Pradesh included the Hill districts, the posts so advertised also included posts for the Hill districts of the then existing State of U.P., which now fall in the State of Uttarakhand. Out of those 500 posts, 424 posts were allocated for Non-Hill Cadre and 76 posts were for Hill Cadre. The posts were also categorised subject-wise such as Electrical Engineering; Electronics; Instrumentation and Control; and Computer Engineering. The candidates were required to submit their option cadre-wise as well as category-wise. Pursuant to the advertisement, written examination was held on 08.08.1999 and 19.12.1999. Thereafter, interviews were held between 20.06.2000 to 28.06.2000.
(3.) However, before the results could be declared, a group of persons filed writ petition before the Lucknow Bench of this Court i.e. Writ Petition No. 2800 of 2000 (S/S) (R.P. Shukla and Others v. Chief Engineer (Hydal), U.P. Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd and others) claiming that 500 posts notified for direct recruitment also included 33.33% posts that were to be filled by promotion. It was prayed that direct recruitment process should be allowed only against 66.7% of the 500 posts so advertised. On this petition, on 24.05.2000, the Lucknow Bench of this Court restrained the respondents from filling up 33.33% of the 500 posts advertised.;