- (1.) The petitioners have sought a mandate to the respondent to consider them for promotion to the post of Technician Grade-II according to Recruitment and Promotion Policy, 1985.
(2.) The facts : Respondent No. 1 exercising power under Section 79(c) of the Electricity Supply Act, 1948 (for brevity, the Act) framed Recruitment and Promotion Policy for its employees in 1985. The Policy also provides criteria for promotion to the post of Technician Grade-II. 50% of the posts of Technician Grade-II were to be filled up by direct recruitment with persons having I.T.I. two years' course and 9th class schooling and the remaining 50% posts were to be filled up by promotion from Helpers Grade-I with three years' experience/service as such. The petitioners were working on different posts in the pay scale of Helper Grade-I and had more than three years experience/service to their credit. 200 odd posts of Technician Grade-II were lying vacant in the Haryana State Electricity Board. Respondent No. 1, in the year 1987 instead of directly recruiting Technician Grade-II as per its Recruitment and Promotion Policy, recruited 150 apprentice employees and sent them for training in the same year. The past practice was that 50% promotional posts of Technician Grade-II were given to the senior most persons in the pay scale of Helper Grade-I after considering their suitability. Respondent No. 1 recruited 150 apprentices against the vacant posts of 200 Technician Grade-II. The recruitment was made against the promotion policy which provided that 50% of the posts of Technician Grade-II were to be filled up out of the helpers Grade-II. Non-consideration of the claim of the petitioners has seriously prejudiced them.
(3.) Written statement has been filed on behalf of respondents 1 and 2. It was admitted that as per Recruitment and Promotion Policy, 50% of the posts of Technician Grade-II have to be filled up by promotion out of Helpers Grade-I. The petitioners except petitioner Nos. 3, 13 and 14 were not eligible for consideration for promotion as Technician Grade-II from amongst 50% quota meant for promotees as they were not helpers Grade-I. They may be eligible for consideration for direct recruitment to the post of Technician Grade-II or Plant Attendant Grade-II, if they had got the prescribed qualification and experience as per the Recruitment and Promotion Policy for Thermal Staff. Respondent No. 1 ordered an enquiry against petitioner Nos. 1, 2, 4 to 12, 15 and 16 since it was detected that the certificates obtained by them from I.T.I. Haldwani were not in order as they got exemption for taking I.T.I. examination as private candidates from I.T.I. Haldwani on the basis of bogus/false experience certificates submitted by them to the I.T.I. authorities. The enquiry had been ordered against 127 such employees who had submitted similar experience certificates to the I.T.I. authorities. Enquiry against 44 employees had been completed. Petitioner No. 4, 6, 11, 13 and 14 had been prima facie found guilty of submitting bogus/false experience certificates for getting exemption from taking I.T.I. examination as private candidatures, and disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against them. Petitioner Nos. 13 and 14 had been suspended from service vide order dated September 1, 1989 on the basis of the enquiry conducted against them by the Vigilance Wing of respondent No. 1 for submitting false experience certificates to the authorities of I.T.I. Haldwani. The result of enquiry against rest of the petitioners is still awaited. It was, however, conceded that respondent No. 1 would consider petitioner Nos. 3, 13 and 14 for promotion to the post of Technician Grade-II under 50% promotees quota on seniority-cum-merit basis. The case of other petitioners would be considered for direct recruitment to the post of Technician Grade-II or Plant Attendant Grade-II, provided they had got the prescribed qualification and experience, etc. and if in the enquiry already ordered against them they are not found guilty.;