- (1.) Chief Engineer, Union Territory, Chandigarh has filed the instant writ petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for quashing of the order dated 27.7.2011 (Annexure P6) passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, Chandigarh (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal') directing the petitioner to hold DPC meeting within a period of two months to consider the case of eligible UT employees for promotion to the posts of Executive Engineers, strictly as per gradation list, and if no one is found suitable, only then the posts may be filled up by way of deputation by taking qualified persons from other States.
(2.) The aforesaid order was passed by the Tribunal on the Original Application filed by certain officers (respondents No.1 to 6 herein), who were working on the posts of Sub Divisional Engineers in the Engineering Department of U.T. Administration. It is the case of those applicants/respondents that vide notification dated 13.1.1992 issued by the President of India, it was notified that the conditions of service, as applicable to the employees of the State of Punjab, were applicable to the employees of Union Territory, Chandigarh also. The said notification also came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in U.T. Chandigarh Versus Rajesh Kumar Basandhi, 2004 1 SCT 680, wherein it was held that the Punjab Rules are applicable ipso facto to UT employees even without formal adoption. It is further the case of those applicants/respondents that in the year 2005 the Punjab Government had enacted the Punjab Service of Engineers (Civil Wing), Department of Public Works (B&R Branch) Group 'A' Service Rules, 2005 (which were further amended in the year 2007) (hereinafter referred to as 'the Service Rules of 2005'). According to the Service Rules of 2005, a Sub Divisional Engineer, who has an experience of working as such for a minimum period of eight years, is eligible for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer. The applicants/respondents claimed that there are more than four vacancies of Executive Engineers available with the petitioner, but in spite of the fact that all the applicants are fully eligible for promotion to the post of XEN (B&R) according to the aforesaid Rule, the petitioner instead of promoting them, is going to fill up those vacancies by way of deputation from the States of Punjab and Haryana.
(3.) The Original Application filed by respondents No.1 to 6 was opposed by the petitioner on the ground that all the applicants/respondents did not possess 8 years regular service on the post of SDE, and the period of their experience on current duty charge cannot be treated as part of the qualifying experience for promotion to the next higher post. The case of the petitioner was that since none of the applicants/respondents are eligible for promotion to the post of XEN (Civil), therefore they have been constrained to fill up the vacant posts by way of appointing suitable persons on deputation from the States of Punjab and Haryana so that the time bound projects could be completed in time and the budgetary funds allocated by the Government of India are not allowed to waste.;