- (1.) In this bunch of the writ petitions the petitioners who were trained as apprentices at the expense of the State were not given appointment in U.P. Road Transport Corporation in accordance with circular dated 21st September, 1977, issued by the Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (herein referred to as Corporation) have prayed for issue of writ of certiorari for quashing the letter dated September 1, 1988 and Government circular dated September 21, 1977 as well as advertisement, issued for the post, and have further prayed for issue of writ of mandamus, directing the opposite parties to appoint the petitioners on the posts of Conductors/Clerks in the Corporation in different regions.
(2.) The Corporation in its meeting dated 27th August, 1977 resolved that those apprentices who have been trained as apprentices by the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation will get preference in the matters of selection for appointment in the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation. On the basis of the aforesaid resolution, the Joint General Manager (Administration and Personnel) issued a circular dated 21st September, 1977, laying down the procedure of selection of apprentice as General Clerk/Working Clerk/Junior Clerk in the corporation mentioning that these apprentices will not be required to appear at the written test and at the time of interview 10 marks will be given to every trained apprentice towards his experience. It was also provided that it will not be necessary for these apprentices to be sent through Employment Exchange and they shall be eligible for selection upto the age of 32 years. On 10th January, 1978 the Joint General Manager wrote to all the Regional Managers of the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation and asked them to consider the apprentices in the light of the circular dated 21.9.87 by giving them priority in appointment against leave vacancies also. Thereafter the persons who were trained as apprentices were appointed as and when vacancies occurred and some of the trained apprentices were also absorbed against other post such as Conductors. In the year 1977 on the basis of the circular Miss Laxmi Kaur, Miss Lata Sharma and Miss Kusum Gupta who were trained as apprentice, were appointed as Office Assistants. Even prior to the resolution dated 27.8.1977 the trained apprentices used to be appointed by the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation in accordance with the consistent policy of appointment of trained apprentices. In the year 1980 the Corporation started to appoint the trained apprentices on the posts of conductors without holding any interview and the procedure followed was that options were called from the trained apprentices of different categories for appointment as Conductors. Vide letters dated 14.5.1980 and 16.9.1980 the Corporation appointed 36 and 10 trained apprentices respectively without holding any interview on the post of conductors and such appointments were made in various regions. Names of such appointees were mentioned by the petitioners in the writ petition. The petitioners who had obtained certificates as apprentices approached the Regional Manager for appointment but they were not given appointments on the ground that the posts were not available. In the year 1982 the Corporation imposed ban on fresh appointments but the training of apprentices were allowed to continue by the Corporation and the bar which ws so imposed by the Corporation was lifted in the year 1987 and, thereafter, these persons approached for their appointment. As the vacancies of the Conductors were available, the Corporation wrote to the District Employment Officer for sending names of 700 eligible candidates for the post of Conductors and in Lucknow Region 55 posts of Conductors were advertised on 15th October, 1988 and similarly in other regions of U.P. State Road Transport Corporation issued advertisement and applications were invited. The Director/State Apprenticeship Advisor of the State Government issued orders to consider the cases of the trained apprentices in order to appoint them. In the meantime the State Government had also issued Government Orders dated 21.9.1977 and 12.11.1979, providing that if trained apprentices are available, so far as possible, direct recruitment should not be made. The Government of India had also issued an order to 'All the State Apprenticeship Advisors' that 50% of total vacancies be filed by the trained apprentices only. Some of the Directors of the Corporation also supported the petitioners' cause but in spite of the aforesaid orders they were not given appointment and feeling aggrieved against the issuance of the Government orders and the issuance of the advertisement which completely mars their chances for appointment the petitioners have approached this Court.
(3.) On behalf of the Corporation in the counter-affidavit it has been stated that after coming into force of the Regulation, framed under Section 77 of the U.P. Roadways Corporation Act, new appointments are made in accordance with the regulations and those who do not fulfill qualifications and it may be educational or experience or age cannot be appointed. The regulation on which reliance has been placed came into force in the year 1981 which is known as U.P. State Road Transport Corporation Employees (other than officers) Service Regulations, 1981. Regulations 11 and 12 of the Service Regulations deal with source of recruitment and reservation and do not provide any preference to apprentices.;