- (1.) The present intra-court appeal, filed under Clause X of the Letters Patent, challenges the order dated 01.02.2011, passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court, dismissing the writ petition bearing C. W. P. No. 2303 of 2010 filed by the appellants. The case set up by the appellants is that vide order dated 04.01.1995, appellants no. 1, 2, 4 and 5 were promoted as Research Officers, whereas appellant no. 3 was promoted as Credit Planning Officer on ad hoc basis. The ad hoc promotion of the appellants was duly approved by Haryana Public Service Commission (for brevity the Commission) on 26.08.1997. Since thereafter, no order was passed regularly promoting the appellants, they knocked the doors of this Court through C. W. P. No. 5571 of 2000 with a prayer that they be considered as regularly promoted officers with effect from the respective dates of their promotions as the posts, against which they were promoted, fell within the promotion quota and that their promotions had also been approved by the Commission. During the pendency of the above writ petition, the respondent-State issued order dated 16.05.2000 to continue the appellants and other similarly situated persons on the posts held by them on ad hoc basis. This, according to the appellants, was contrary to the record as according to them, after approval of the Commission, they already stood regularly promoted. Thereafter, the respondent-State promoted the respondents and finalized the seniority position through order dated 01.05.2008 (Annexure P-13). As per this order dated 01.05.2008 (Annexure P-13), the appellants were placed senior to the private respondents, but vide another order dated 16.12.2009 (Annexure P-18), the seniority position was changed and through this change, the private respondents were now placed senior to the appellants. It is this action of the State, which was primarily assailed by the appellants in the writ petition filed before this Court i.e. C. W. P. No. 2303 of 2010. The issues, as raised by the appellant, were culled out by the learned Single Judge as under :- "The petitioners thus claim (i) that they were promoted in the year 1995 which promotion was duly approved by the Haryana Public Service Commission and the regular promotion orders were passed in the year 2002 granting them promotion w.e.f. 1995 and that the period spent by them on adhoc basis from 1995 to 2002 be considered for the purpose of reckoning their seniority especially in view of Rule 11 of the Haryana Economic & Statistical Organisation (Group B) Service Rules, 1996 which stipulates length of service to be the criteria to determine the seniority; and (ii) that in fact their promotion was regular the moment the Haryana Public Service Commission granted them approval; and (iii) that Annexure P-13 was the final seniority list and Annexure P-18 which has upset the effect of Annexure P-13 could not have been passed in view of the fact that the succeeding authority cannot review the order of its predecessor more so when the power of review is a creation of statute and in the absence of any specific provisions such a power can never be exercised by any authority."
(2.) The learned Single Judge then dealt with each of the above issues separately. So far as the issue raised by the appellants with regard to their promotion in the year 1995 being regular on having been approved by the Commission is concerned, the same was considered the rejected by the learned Single Judge by holding thus :- "While granting promotion to the petitioners, Annexure P-1 spoke as follows :- "The Governor of Haryana is pleased to order promotions/postings of the following Assistant Research Officers/Assistant District Statistical Officers/Research Assistant as Research officers/District Statistical officers/Planning officers/Credit planning officers/Economists shown against each on adhoc basis in the pay scale of Rs.2375-75-2900-EB-100-3600 against direct quota posts for a period of 9 months or till the candidates recommended by Haryana Public Service Commission join, whichever is earlier, with immediate effect:-"
(3.) The matter was thus referred to the Haryana Public Service Commission on the strength of letter dated 10.3.1997, which though not placed on record, was shown to the court during the course of proceedings and which had asked for approval of the Haryana Public Service Commission to the adhoc promotions made by the respondent-State. The approval thus granted by the Haryana Public Service Commission was merely to the arrangement which the respondentState had resorted to on adhoc basis which promotions were against the direct quota posts. Annexure P-4 was thus merely a reiteration of the earlier arrangement made by promoting the petitioners on adhoc basis which received the approval of the Haryana Public Service Commission and was not a reversal of the stand of the respondent as the order Annexure P-4 reads that "In consultation with Haryana Public Service Commission, Governor of Haryana is pleased to accord approval for continuation of their adhoc promotion to the following Research Officer/District Statistical Officers/Planning Officers/Credit Planning Officers/Economists beyond the dates mentioned against each." xx xx xx "Having said this, it becomes abundantly clear that the promotion of the petitioners to the posts was on adhoc basis and not regular as the counsel for the petitioners wanted this court to accept. The regular promotion was thus made in the year 2002 which is much after the private respondents having entered in service as direct recruits in 2001.";