Susanta Chatterji, J. - (1.) The writ petitioners who are 14 in numbers have filed the present writ petition praying, inter-alia, :- (a) a writ of and/or in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent authorities, their men and officers/subordinates and/or servants and/ or assigns, each one of them to consider the case of the petitioners for promotion to the post of Private Secretary as per the norms and procedure of Coal India Limited and as per representations being letters dated the June 22, 1989 (being Annexure "F" to this petition), letters dated the 5th day of June, 1990 and the June 21st, 1990 (being Annexure "G" collectively to the petition) and further commanding them to effect the promotions of the petitioners forthwith to the post of Private Secretary and to award seniority to the petitioners along with the financial benefits attached to the post of Private Secretary with effect from October 14, 1987; (b) a writ of and/or in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent authorities, their men and officers/subordinates and / or servants and/ or assigns, each one of them to implement the award passed by the learned Industrial Tribunal on October 30, 1987 being Annexure "C" to the petition, in true spirits and letter and further commanding them to cancel the illegal promotions given to the respondents Nos. 7 to 19 and to fix the seniority of petitioners vis-a-vis respondents according to the seniority as on January 1, 1983; (c) a writ of and/or in the nature of certiorari directing the respondents to transmit the entire records of the case forming the basis of illegal promotions given to the respondents Nos. 7 to 19 to the posts of Senior Personal Assistants and to the post of Private Secretary to this Hon'ble Court and to certify them and on being so certified, quash the same; (d) a writ of and /or in the nature of prohibition commanding the respondent authorities, their men and officers/ subordinates and/or servants and/or assigns, each one of them from giving effect to Circular No. CIL/C 5-A (iii)/51823/1301 dated October 10, 1990 (being Annexure "I" to the petition) and/or from invalidating the panel prepared for effecting promotion to the post of Private Secretary; (e) appropriate writ and/or writs, order and/ or orders, direction or directions directing the respondents to pay financial benefits attached to the post of Senior Personal Assistants with effect from November 15, 1983 to the petitioners which was denied by the respondent authorities by an Office Order No. BCCL/PAV/Pro/PA/88/ 13057-157 dated September 28, 1988 (being Annexure "D" to the petition); (f) Rule Nisi in terms of prayers (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) above; (g) an order of injunction do issue directing the respondent authorities each one of them and/or their servants and / or subordinates and /or men and officers and /or assigns to consider the case of petitioners for effecting promotion to the post of Private Secretary and to consider the fixation of the seniority of the petitioners vis-avis respondents Nos. 7 to 19 herein; (h) an order of injunction do issue directing the respondent authorities, each one of them and /or their servants and/or subordinates and/or men and officers and/or assigns from restraining the respondent Nos. l to 6 from violating the decisions of Minutes of the Meeting held on June 19, 1989 (being Annexure "H" to the petition) and from giving effect to the Circular No. CIL/C/5A(iii)/51823/1301 dated October 10, 1990 (being the Annexure 'I' to the petition) and from taking any step for holding any fresh examination/test to the post of Private Secretary without awarding promotion to the petitioners and also from giving any further promotion to the respondents Nos. 7 to 19 working as Private Secretary until disposal of the writ application; (i) ad interim order in terms of prayers (g) and (h) above; (j) leave under Rule 12 of the Writ Rules of this Hon'ble Court to move the instant application in a representative capacity; (k) any other order or further orders be passed as Your Lordship may deem fit and proper.
(2.) It is stated in detail that the petitioners Nos. 1 to 12 are working as Senior Personal Assistants attached to Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited and the petitioners Nos. 13 and 14 are recently appointed/ promoted as Private Secretary and are working under Coal India Limited. The petitioners are in the employment of Bharat Coking Coal Limited and they were given employment on different dates between the years 1964 and 1975 in the Ministerial Cadre of the Company. The Management of Bharat Coking Coal Limited formulated a Cadre Scheme for promotion in respect of Ministerial Staff including Stenographers and Senior Stenographers by a Circular No. BCCL/PA-II31000-80 dated June 20, 1977. It is alleged that pursuant to the Circular dated June 20, 1977, a note-sheet was initiated in the year 1983 to assess the number of Senior Personal Assistants required in the whole organisation of Bharat Coking Coal Limited comprising of Head Quarters, Area Offices and other establishments of Bharat Coking Coal Limited. After due assessment, it is however, alleged, it was found that a total of 69 vacancies of Senior Personal Assistants were existing. In order to fill up these existing vacancies for the posts of Senior Personal Assistants, a Departmental Promotion Committee was constituted to consider eligibility of Senior Stenographers/Personal Assistants for promotion to the post of Senior Personal Assistants. According to the Cadre Scheme, the case of promotion of Senior Stenographers to the posts of Senior Personal Assistants had to be considered company -wise, that is, all eligible candidates working in the entire organisation were being considered for promotion to the posts of Senior Personal Assistants. A test was held and altogether 106 workmen including the petitioners and the respondents Nos. 7 to 19 appeared in the said test. As a result of the speed test and after observing other formalities for effecting promotion, the candidates who qualified in the said test, a letter dated April 20, 1983 was sent by Shri T.N Srivastava, Deputy Chief Personnel Manager to the Chief Vigilance Officer to solicit his opinion from vigilance point of view as regards 75 Senior Stenographers who were declared as having been qualified in the said speed test and found fit for promotion. The names of the petitioners also allegedly figured in the list of Shri Srivastava and the Chief Vigilance Officer and there was nothing adverse against the candidates. Instead of issuing promotion order on the basis of seniority-cum-merit consideration, the management relied on pick and choose policy resulting in the promotion to the junior candidates ignoring the legitimate and lawful claim of senior candidates. A total number of 43 candidates were promoted but from a close study of the aforesaid promotion orders as referred in the writ petition, it would be evident that the writ petitioners were superseded by their juniors. It is placed on record that when the management did not take any steps to redress the grievance of the candidates and when no promotion orders were issued in favour of the writ petitioners, the Union to which the petitioners were attached to, referred the matter to the Assistant Labour Commissioner and the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 10(1) (d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, referred the matter to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal at Dhanbad for adjudication. The reference was made as to "whether the action of the management of M/s: Bharat Coking Coal Limited, Koyla Bhawan, Koyla Nagar, Dhanbad in denying promotion to the post of Senior Personal Assistants to Sri Ramesh Sharma and 22 other, Senior Stenographers of M/s. BCCL is justified? If so, to what relief these workmen are entitled?"
(3.) The Central Government Industrial Tribunal after exhaustive examination found that the Departmental Promotion Committee was not constituted properly and the recommendations made by it were arbitrary and illegal. The procedures adopted by the Departmental Promotion Committee, refer A the panel and the promotions made from the panel should be set aside, and the management should re- consider the entire matter of promotion of Senior Stenographers to Senior Personal Assistants in accordance with the promotion policy and the Rules of the Company.;