R.L. Anand, J. - (1.) SHRI Bharat Krishan Sahni has filed the present writ petition under Articles 226/ of the Constitution of India against Bhakra Beas Management Board, through its Chairman (hereinafter called "the Board"), and it has been prayed by the petitioner that a writ in the nature of certiorari be issued and that the joint seniority list prepared by the Board, Annexure P -3, be declared as wrong, illegal, without jurisdiction, arbitrary and unconstitutional.
(2.) THE case set up by the petitioner is that he joined the service with the Board with effect from 14.12.1972 as Junior Draftsman. He was promoted as Draftsman on 31.7.1984 and was also promoted as Head Draftsman with effect from 14.11.1996. The petitioner passed out Board's Subordinate Engineers' Examination in January, 1997 and as such he is eligible for promotion as Class II (SDE). By virtue of Section 79 sub -clause (4) of the Punjab Re - organisation Act, 1966, the Board has been empowered to employee such staff as may be considered necessary for the efficient discharge of its functioning. The grouse of the petitioner is that Section 79 of the Punjab Re - organization Act, 1966 nowhere provides or imposes any obligation upon the Board to call employees of the States of Punjab, Haryana or any other State having share in the water and electricity generated through the various projects under the Board. It is further the grouse of the petitioner that' except regular employees of the Board, the employees on deputation from the States of Punjab, Haryana are working in the Board. There are Ex -Central Government employees and they have been treated as fresh appointees. Virtually they are on deputation. Since they have not born in the Board, therefore, they cannot equate in the matter of seniority vis -a -vis those employees who were appointed in the Board on regular basis as Junior Draftsman Draftsman or Divisional Head Draftsman. The Board has prepared a joint seniority list of deputationists, regular employees and ex -central Government employees by giving them separate status which is wrong, illegal, without jurisdiction, arbitrary and unconstitutional. The deputationists cannot be given preference over the regular employees and by treating them at par with regular employees, this action of the Board is illegal.
(3.) IN short, the stand of the petitioner, is that in the joint seniority list, the employees of the Government of Haryana, Punjab and Ex -Central employees have been considered as equals with that of the petitioner who was borne in the cadre of the Board and since the cadre of the petitioner is a class in itself, therefore, he cannot be considered equal with that of those employees who are on deputation with the Board and there cannot be a joint seniority list inter se vis -a -vis them. Resultantly, the joint seniority prepared by the respondents Annexure P -3, should be quashed.;